The Three Treasures
by swirlheart
Summary: Three unknown girls show up at the Soul Society looking for something, but end up becoming enemy #1. Are they really bad or is there something deeper? Either way it leads to Hitsugaya leaving the Soul Society. I'm trying something new! PLZ read & review!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1:**

A meeting was being held to discuss a possible upcoming danger to the Soul Society. Strange things have been occurring in nearby villages involving sudden unexplained disappearances of local villagers. The Head Captain had ordered a captains' meeting for that afternoon to solve the threat. That, and find out if it was directed to the Soul Society as a whole or targeting specific people.

The meeting had gone on for some time now and none of the information was making any sense to them.

"Soi Fon, would you repeat that for us again?"

"Yes, sir!" She stepped forward. "Squad 2 was dispatched to the villages to investigate. We came up with no clues as to who the attacker was, but we did find out some useful information. The only people who were reported vanished were young children."

"Children?"

"Yes. Both male and female children ranging from ages four to fourteen," she confirmed. "Same for all the other villages."

"How many villages were attacked?"

"Three in all."

"I see. Go on."

"The children were all reported to be last seen in bed, asleep. All these attacks happened during the night. All reports were the same. The children ate dinner with their families, went to bed, and in the morning were discovered missing. Their rooms were secure."

"So, they were all abducted?"

"Not necessarily. There were no signs of forced entry. No one heard anything out of the ordinary. It's as if they simply got up and walked off themselves. But the parents all have inconsistent stories regarding that. Some say that their children would never think to do something like that, some say that their children have nowhere to go and are not capable of doing something like this, and others say that yes, their children would do it as a form of some sort of prank. Those children are mischievous, but were only likely to carry through if they had enough children to join them. If not, they would lose interest quickly."

"So what you're saying is that even the troublemakers wouldn't do it alone, right? They want to do it in a group."

"Yes, that's right. But they lack the talent to persuade others. A lot of these children were quite young, four and five years old. The children with more gall were young boys between the ages of ten and fourteen. It's unlikely that they could convince such young children to do something like this, especially when a lot of the younger children's bedtimes are much earlier than theirs."

Shunsui adjusted his hat. "Huh. Well, how do you like that? So why did they run off?"

"No one knows." Soi Fon put her hands on her hips. "It's troubling. Which leads us all to believe that they were abducted after all."

"All of them? But why?"

"No one knows that either. But there is some good news. A small group of missing children returned the other day."

"What did they say?"

"Nothing. They couldn't tell us anything about their captor." Soi Fon raised her head, showing everyone her serious eyes. "In fact, none of them were even aware that they had been missing."

"Say what?"

She nodded. "When we asked them what had happened, they were still under the impression that it was the same day of their disappearance."

Shunsui exchanged looks with his fellow captains. "Total mind-blanks. Weird."

"But what does this have to do with us?" It was Komamura's turn to speak. "How is this a threat to the Soul Society?"

"Because of this." She pulled out a map from her kimono and threw it to the floor at their feet. "I've marked the villages there with red X's. See the pattern?"

They all looked it over carefully. The villages marked were all relatively close by. In fact, according to the map, they were…

"… They're leading in our direction!" Ukitake figured it out first.

"That's correct. The first attack was reported in that village there, the furthest away. Then there was an attack there and now in that village closest to us."

"So they're all coming closer to us."

"So it would seem."

Kenpachi rested his hand on his sword. "Well, that's more than enough reason to go out there and kick some ass."

"Yes, but _whose_?" Byakuya inquired. "We don't even know who we're up against."

"He has a point," Hitsugaya finally spoke up. "We don't know who they are. No name, nothing."

"It could be Aizen."

"No, it's not his style."

"Back to square one, huh?"

"Captain Unohana," Yamamoto addressed. "What about you? Weren't you the one who looked over the children?"

"Yes, I did," she spoke calmly. "Once they arrived home, I went to check them over for injuries. I could find none."

"Wait a minute, wait a minute! I'm confused." Shunsui scratched his head. "So let me get this straight… Three villages were attacked in the dead of night without anyone knowing about it until morning when the children were all discovered gone, they're gone for a few days, a few of them were returned unharmed with no memory of what had happened and that's it? I don't get it. It makes no sense at all."

"I agree," Ukitake added. "These attacks are all getting closer to the Soul Society, we know that, but why are children being the only ones targeted? Think about it. If this person or persons wanted to threaten us, why would they go out of their way abducting young children like this and not even leave a note of ransom or even a threat to the Soul Society? It seems like a pretty poor way to threaten someone. More like an empty threat than anything."

"Yeah, he's right! I agree! At the very least, a person should have the intelligence to threaten someone a little more clearly. At least tell us who you are so we know what we're up against. Not even a name or their intention..!"

"That's true. But they, whoever they are, probably took these children just to get our attention. They might not be part of their plan at all other than to get us to look. Effective, certainly."

"But come on! No name, no clear intention, motive unknown, kidnapping without cause other than to get our attention… But now that they have it, now what? They haven't even gotten that far yet, by the looks of it. They haven't told us anything yet. What do they want, what are they after? We have nothing!"

"Then this means that our enemy is very intelligent. To not leave any clues as to who or what they are, not even their true intention, but to leave just enough to get our attention."

"Byakuya has a point. We don't know who they are or what they're after but they have our attention. Now the real trouble starts. Now that they have our attention, what do they plan to do?"

"An enemy we cannot see and know nothing about… This is a tricky one. If we make any mistakes…"

"That's right. We must be very careful."

"Don't we have anything to go on?"

"As a matter of fact, we do!" Mayuri Kurotsuchi stepped forward and pulled something out of his sleeve. "We managed to salvage this from one of the villages."

"What is that thing?"

"This, my dear Soi Fon, just so happens to be a portable recording device. Nemu and I went back to one of the villages the other night to conduct some research of our own. Long story short, we left this laying near the entrance to see if we heard anything. The next morning we picked it up, and as a bonus, several of the children had returned as well."

"So they had been released?"

"Perhaps. Only a small handful of them, though. But that's beside the point. My point is that we had planted this recording device to get an audio of their captor. And it worked!" But before anyone could get too excited he quickly added, "But it isn't the best quality. It's very faint and hard to make out."

"Then what exactly _did_ you managed to salvage?" Soi Fon asked impatiently.

"Just a little something something. Here's what we do have. It sounds like this." Mayuri held up the white device. It was in the shape of a box but had a black skull painted on the front. He pushed one of the eyes inward and that triggered the device to activate. The black skull's eyes started to glow bright yellow and out came a strange sound.

It was very scratchy and gargled. It didn't sound like anything. Not a voice, not music, not wind. Nothing. It was just a very faint noise, full of static to boot.

"What in the world is that?"

"It's all we have to go on, that's what."

"It sounds like nothing," commented Shunsui. "You sure that's a clue?"

"Like I said, it's all we have."

All the captains were struggling so hard to hear the sample of sound that none of them took the time to notice that Hitsugaya was acting strangely. He was frozen in place with a dazed look on his face and his pupils were beginning to dilate.

Mayuri shut the box with a snap. "Well, there you have it. A weird and bizarre mystery with no clue other than this to go on against an unknown enemy. Fun, huh?"

"Kurotsuchi, this is hardly the time for your-"

"Toshiro, are you alright?"

A few of the captains turned to look at the one staring off into space.

"Captain!" Ukitake said sharply and it was just enough to snap the young captain back to his senses.

"Huh?" He blinked and his eyes returned to normal.

"Are you alright?" Ukitake asked, voice full of worry.

"I…" He felt strange. He felt as if someone were pulling him away. He felt so distant and lightheaded all of a sudden. It was as if he were no longer there. And then so suddenly it all stopped. That strange feeling… what could it have been? "I… I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm ok. Just spaced out for a minute there… Sorry. Please continue."

* * *

He just couldn't get over that strange feeling. It was as if he were falling into some sort of trance. It was so strange. He couldn't put it behind him. It had been on his mind all day. Hopefully now he could get some rest. It was late and he was tired. Hitsugaya dawned his night robes and climbed into bed. Time to sleep.

On what seemed like a still night, something was stirring outside. It was restless.

Shortly after midnight, it happened.

A soft sweet song could be heard on the wind. Soft and welcoming. A wordless song.

Hitsugaya opened his dilated eyes and sat up in bed. He turned to the open window on his left. A song came wafting into his room, filling it. The sweet melody wrapped around him, cradling him.

_Come…_

He obeyed the song's hidden message. He pulled back the covers and crawled out of bed. He didn't even bother with his sandals. He walked outside as is and followed that soothing song. He had to find its source. He had to find the singer with the voice of an angel.

Following the song with no words, Hitsugaya found himself in an alley with crates and boxes stacked up on top of each other. Sitting on top of the stack was a young girl. She was singing. Her voice changed pitches. Her song was coming to an end.

She turned and spotted her audience. She smiled and said, "Come closer."

Hitsugaya stepped forward.

She climbed down from her perch and stood in front of him. "What is your name?"

"Toshiro Hitsugaya," he answered in monotone. He was like a zombie.

"And what is a child doing here of all places?"

"I am captain of Squad 10."

The girl gave a startled gasp. "You're a captain?"

He nodded.

The girl bit her lip and looked wildly around. "I have to get you out of here before-"

"Lavender!"

She jumped. "Yes, big sister?"

Another girl, this one with blue hair hurried up to her. "What are you doing? I told you that you shouldn't sing so close to this place. So instead you sing in the very place I told you to be careful in!"

"I- I'm sorry, Sapphire! I didn't mean to-"

"Didn't mean to? You know that Soul Reapers are dangerous! Look what they did to us! To our friends and families! They're no good! How many times do I have to tell you?"

"Big sister, please keep your voice down! I have an admirer." She pointed to Hitsugaya standing off to the side.

Sapphire studied him for a moment. "Who's he?"

"He lives here. He's-"

"I don't have time for this! Our sister is lost in here somewhere and you're entertaining? What if she's hurt or worse?"

"But sister, I-"

"Lavender, I'm trying to tell you that I don't have time for this! Sing on your own time! Not now! You know your little siren song only works on children, so why are you bothering using it here where there is clearly no one here to help us out?"

"Sister-"

"All those kids at that village were useless. Not a single one could help us out with our goal so we had to let them go. It's no use. If we don't find someone to help us soon-"

"Sister!"

"What?"

"I've been trying to tell you that I have found someone to help us!"

Sapphire blinked. "Y- you have? Who?"

She pointed to Hitsugaya. "Provided that you didn't wake him up, he can help us out. Guess what? He's a captain!"

Sapphire glared at the captain like a cobra. "So he's one of them? Why are you being so foolish? He's the enemy! Do you like tempting fate?"

"No, no! Please listen! Yes, he's a captain, but he's also a child! Look, see? He's under my spell. See? He'll do as I say. He can help us. Please, sister?"

Sapphire bit her lip and walked up to Hitsugaya. She studied his relaxed face and glazed eyes. She circled around his body and looked him up and down. She was a least a foot taller than he was. And seven inches taller than her sister Lavender. He was so short. How could he be a captain? "You, state your name."

"Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya, Squad 10."

She looked to her sister. "Is Squad Ten high up? Does that mean he's strong?"

Her sister shrugged.

Sapphire ran her fingers through her long hair thoughtfully. "Hmm… He could work out. As long as he's under our control, we won't have to worry about him turning against us and trying to kill us. And your powers work mainly on children and there aren't too many useful kids around here that can help us. I can see where he could come in handy."

"Do you suppose he's seen our sister?"

"I'll ask. Hey, Hitsugaya, have you seen our sister Ruby?"

Hitsugaya frowned. "Mm…"

"Sister, he doesn't know what she looks like. How would he know who she is?"

"She's shorter than you, has red hair, cute, brown eyes, childish… She's always bouncing around doing something. Uh… and she wears her kimono to right about here." Sapphire measured the length of her sister's kimono to just below her knees. "And it has flowers on it, too. I think they're Scarlet Gilia." She looked over her shoulder at her younger sister. "Am I right?"

Lavender nodded. "They are Scarlet Gilia and Drummond Phlox. Two different kinds of red flowers are on her pink kimono. It's her favorite color."

"How the heck should I know that stuff? I don't know flowers like you do!" She turned back to Hitsugaya. "So have you seen her or not?"

Hitsugaya's eyes fluttered. He let out a soft moan.

Sapphire turned back to her sister, furious. "Idiot! He's waking up! I thought you had him!"

Lavender raised her hands defensively. "I swear I did! But it doesn't last forever! Everyone I use it on snaps out of it after a while!"

"Then put him back under!"

"Yes, yes! Right away!" Lavender hurried over to Hitsugaya and began to whisper her song into his ear. In no time at all, his eyes glazed over once again and became completely obedient to their will. "There, it's done."

"Good." She walked back up to Hitsugaya. "Now answer me. Did you see my sister or not?"

Hitsugaya shook his head. "No, I have not."

Sapphire kicked the wall in frustration. "Damn it! She's still out there!"

Lavender tried her best to comfort her sister. "It's alright. Don't worry. We'll find her."

"I want to find her before those damn Soul Reapers do!"

"But-"

"Lavender, you know what they're like! You know what they've done to us! They can't be trusted! It's because of them and this stupid Soul Society that everyone we know is dead! Or have you forgotten that?"

Lavender became silent. Her big sister's words hurt in a way no blade could. That emotional wound was deep. Their past was a sad one. All they had was each other. Just the three of them. They knew what had happened. She knew full well that the Soul Society was the cause of their pain. How could she ever forget what had happened? She turned her gaze to the ground and gave a small shake of her head. "No, I have not forgotten. I can never forget."

Satisfied with her answer, Sapphire patted her sister's shoulder. "I know." Her elder sister's usual strong, dominate voice had become gentle. She knew more than anyone how painful it was, being there to witness it and helping her siblings through it as well.

They both turned their gaze back towards Hitsugaya who stood there quietly, waiting for his next instructions. He looked just like a zombie. Their zombie.

"I know what to do." Sapphire stepped closer. "We'll make him ours."

Lavender let out a tiny gasp. "But, what are you planning to..?"

"You know." She raised her right hand. "Your power is only good for a short time, whereas mine can make it permanent. We can make him our slave forever. That way we can command him as much as we want without having to worry about him breaking free of our control. It's a great idea and you know it. Besides, as I said before, as long as he's under our control we won't have to worry about him doing anything to harm us. He'll be our slave and obey our every command. He'll never turn against us."

Lavender wasn't so sure. Unlike her other sisters, she was far more timid and nervous. She feared for what was to come. She worried about the consequences. But she also was afraid to disobey her older sister. So far, whatever she had done for them turned out to be for the best. "I suppose… I guess…"

"It'll only take a second." Sapphire placed her hand on Hitsugaya's forehead and his eyes slid shut. "I'll rewrite all of his memories. He won't remember being a part of this Soul Society. He'll only remember being with us. He'll be programmed to protect us. To love us."

Lavender watched her sister as she worked. Their supernatural powers were all different as well as powerful. She sang to cast her spell like a siren. Her sister Ruby's mere presence alone was enough to enslave other people, but being so young, she couldn't fully control her powers just yet. Sapphire, on the other hand, was by far the most powerful of them all. Control people's minds, rewrite memories, erase memories, enslave others… She could do practically anything she wanted. She was terrifying. Terrifying as well as beautiful. In Lavender's opinion, they ranged from cute, pretty and beautiful. She was the pretty one, making Ruby the cute one. None of them were at all ugly in any way. Perhaps that was one reason why they got away with everything. They got by on their looks.

Sapphire smiled. "Almost done. I've just finished erasing his memories. Now I just have to-"

"I thought it was coming from over here."

"Where?"

"Over there."

The two girls gasped and jumped. They had been discovered. Sapphire removed her hand from Hitsugaya's head and walked backwards toward her younger sister. "Damn! Found!"

Lavender grabbed her arm and pulled. "Come on! We have to get out of here!"

Giving no argument, Sapphire turned and ran off into the night with her sister.

"I told you I heard voices coming from over here!"

"Who would be out here in the middle of the night? We're on look-out duty. We have to keep an eye out for that threat."

"Maybe this is it."

"I doubt it. They would have some gall coming into the Seireitei like that."

Without anyone to support him, Hitsugaya fell face first onto the cold unyielding ground and lay motionless.

Four Soul Reapers flash stepped to a halt beside his body. One rolled him over. "It's Captain Hitsugaya!"

"Is he injured?"

"I can't tell. It's too dark."

The same Soul Reaper gave him a shake. "Captain! He's not moving. I think he's out cold."

"We have to get him help."

"Right!"

So they gathered him up and carried him back to where they had come from.

Down several streets, Sapphire cursed them for their timing. "I never finished casting my spell over him."

Lavender's eyes were full of worry. "What did you manage to complete?"

Sapphire sighed and punched the wall. "I didn't have time to make him my slave. I couldn't finish. So I… I don't know how much I managed to get done."

"What does this mean?"

Sapphire slumped against the wall in defeat. "I don't know. But those damn Soul Reapers are about to find out once he wakes up… _If _he wakes up."

* * *

It's only the begining, but I think it's good so far. I thought I'd try something a little different. Tell me what you think so far. Please be nice, though.

And just so you know, I listed the characters Ichigo and Hitsugaya because I feel they're the main characters in this, NOT as a pair. There is no yaoi in this fic.

Please review! ^-^


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

"Out of my way! Where is he?" Rangiku pushed past everyone in her way in her attempt to reach the infirmary. "Where is he? Is he ok?"

Unohana blocked her path into the recovery room and put a finger to her lips. "Shh! Please lower your tone. Hitsugaya is resting."

"Is he ok? He's not hurt, is he?"

"No, no. He is uninjured."

Rangiku let out a huge sigh of relief. "Oh, thank God..! I was so worried about him. I thought something had happened to him. So he's alright?"

"Now, I didn't say that."

Her heart sunk. "What? What do you mean by that? I thought you said that he wasn't hurt."

"Well, physically no. Unfortunately, he seems to be having problems with his memory."

"What kind of problems? What's wrong with his memories?"

"He has none."

It was true. Hitsugaya couldn't remember a thing. His mind had been wiped clean. He felt so lost and confused. All he could remember was his name. He was Toshiro Hitsugaya. But other than that, he didn't know. He had no idea where he was born, who his family was, his past, his present, nothing. He didn't have a clue as to where he was right now, either. He was in some sort of hospital bed, but why? Did this have something to do with his memory loss?

The door opened and he heard footsteps approaching the bed. He pulled the covers up to his eyes, hiding. The footsteps grew louder as they got closer to his bed. That's when the privacy curtain was pulled back revealing a very pretty woman.

"Hello, there! How are you feeling?"

He shyly hid behind the covers. He didn't recognize her.

She lowered her volume. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

"I- I'm not scared," he answered.

She sat down on the edge of his bed. "Do you remember me?"

He shook his head.

So it was true. He really didn't know who she was. "My name is Rangiku Matsumoto."

He lowered the covers slightly. "I- I'm T- Toshiro Hitsugaya."

She smiled at him in a friendly way to reassure him. He smiled back in return.

His stomach growled loudly. He pulled the covers back up to his eyes, embarrassed.

She laughed at his action. He was acting so shy. How odd. That was so unlike him. "I figured you'd be hungry so I smuggled this in for you to eat." She extended a bag out for him to take.

It fell open on his lap and a variety of rice balls spilled out onto the bed. "Onigiri?" He knew what that was right off the bat. There were all different kinds, too. Pickled plum, salon, chicken, and beef rib, all wrapped up in poorly wrapped packaging.

Rangiku gave a weak chuckle. "Sorry about the wrapping job. I didn't have much time…"

"You made all these?" he asked, picking up a seaweed wrapped rice ball.

"Well…" She already knew her cooking wasn't the best, but perhaps he didn't remember that. She watched him closely as he peeled back the paper and took a bite. He didn't make a face. It must have been good, but she decided to ask anyway. "Do you like it?"

He nodded. "Mm-hmm. It's good."

She clapped her hands together. "I'm so glad!"

As he ate, Hitsugaya started to feel a little more comfortable around her. This woman wasn't so bad. He still wanted to know who she was, though. That other woman, Unohana, felt like a mom to him, but it turned out that she was only a doctor or something like that. So did this make her his mom? No, couldn't be. She looked nothing like him. An aunt maybe? He wasn't sure who she was to him.

Once he had finished eating, he decided to ask her. "So… Are you my family?"

She blinked. She wasn't sure how to answer that. "Uh… Well, no. I'm… Call me a friend. I'm a close friend of yours."

"Close?" His eyes widened. "Are we dating?"

She fell off the bed. "No! No, not at all. No."

He let out a relived sigh. "Oh, good..! I was scared there for a minute. So you're just a really good friend?"

"Yeah. We've known each other a while. We go way back."

He smiled again at her. "I… I'd like to remember it."

She sat back on the bed. "So you really don't remember anything? Nothing at all?"

"I remember my name, but that's about it." He rubbed the back of his head. "Did I hit my head or something?"

"I… I'm not sure. They found you last night in the street."

"They?"

"Um, some other people in black kimonos."

"Oh. What was I doing out in the street?"

"We don't know. We were hoping you could tell us that. But I guess you can't because you can't remember anything anyway."

Hitsugaya folded his hands in his lap. "I'm sorry."

"That's ok. It's not your fault."

Hitsugaya was quiet after that for a while. After several long minutes passed, he fluffed up his pillows and made himself more comfortable. He sat facing her and looked into her eyes. "Uh, Rangiku, was it?"

"Yes."

"Since we are such close friends and all, could you please tell me about… me?" His eyes looked curious and hopeful. "I want to remember. I want to find out about me. Please?"

"Uh… Well…"

The curtain pulled back a second time and Unohana walked in and stood at the foot of his bed. "So how are you feeling?"

Hitsugaya smiled. "Fine. I feel alright."

"Have you remembered anything yet?"

He shook his head sadly. "No, not yet. But I'm sure I will."

Rangiku turned her head to look at the female captain. "He wants me to tell him everything about himself. Should I?"

"No."

"Aw! Why not? I want to know!" Hitsugaya whined. He really wasn't himself at all.

"This is a strange case of amnesia. To forget everything but one's name… I've never seen anything like it. But it's amnesia just the same and therefore must be handled the same way. You'll have to remember things on your own over time. We can't force it on you."

"So what should we do?" Rangiku asked.

"His memory should come back on its own. I'm sure there's nothing to worry about. For now, he'll have to remain here. Perhaps he could be released just long enough for him to go home. Maybe being surrounded by familiar things will help him to remember. But that won't be for some time. I would like for him to stay here for a little while longer."

"Can't you do anything for him?"

Unohana shook her head sadly. "No. I'm skilled when it comes to healing, but I'm afraid that memory loss is quite different from a gaping wound. There's nothing I can do for him. No medicine I can give him or anything like that. I'm sorry."

Rangiku stood up from the bed. "But when will you allow him to leave? He needs to remember as quickly as possible. He is a captain, after all. He has things to do. How long will this last?"

"Hopefully not too long." Unohana took a look around the room before sighing. "I suppose I can let him leave later today. I'll do a little more research on this and let you know what to do. You'll have to be in charge of him, you know."

"I understand."

* * *

"And this is where we… well, _you_ spend most of the time during the day. The office!" Rangiku showed Hitsugaya around his vaguely familiar office. After he had been released from the infirmary, Rangiku had spent all of her time showing him around, trying to jog some of his memories.

So far, it didn't seem to be working. He still seemed so lost and confused. He reacted shyly to everyone and everything. When he had seen a Hell Butterfly, he literally ducked in cover behind a potted plant. Clearly this wasn't working.

Hitsugaya looked around the office, picking up and studying everything he could get his hands on. He thumbed through all the waiting paperwork on his desk with a sad look on his face. He turned to look at her. "I'm sorry. But I don't remember."

"It's ok. You will. It will take some time. Unohana said that there is no way for her to cure you instantly. You have to work things out on your own. You'll be fine."

Hitsugaya ran his fingers over the top of the desk. "Is it true?"

"Eh?"

"Me." He turned his gaze back to her. "Am I really a captain? Me?"

Rangiku was afraid of this. "Well, yes. Why?"

"I just… I just didn't think that they allowed kids in or something. And this thing…" He pointed to the sword propped against the wall. "Is that really mine?"

"Yes. That's your zanpakuto."

"And… and I can use it?"

"Yes. You know how. You've just forgotten, that's all. It'll come back to you soon enough. Trust me."

Even though he nodded, Rangiku could tell that he wasn't so sure. It was hard enough finding out that he was a captain, now this? She hadn't told him that much yet, but what little she did tell him must have been overwhelming.

"And…" he went on. "And these Soul Reaper people… could you run that by me again?"

"Sure. You and I, and everyone wearing a black kimono is a Soul Reaper."

"And we kill these Hollow things… right?"

"Well… Yes, to put it simply. We're the good guys. We help people."

"I see…" He turned back around and looked out the window. The outside world seemed so vast. Looking out from this high position made him feel almost like a king overlooking his kingdom. So why didn't he feel powerful? Though he was so high up looking out at this big world, he felt so small and weak. He felt like a tiny ant constantly running and hiding and dodging people's feet. Even now he felt like he was being crushed. "Rangiku?"

"Yes, sir?"

"D- don't call me that, please. I just- I just can't…"

He didn't need to finish. She understood what he meant. "I'm sorry."

"But Rangiku?"

"Yes?"

"I…" He placed his hand on the window. "I would like it to stop now, please."

"What do you mean?"

"These lessons or whatever." He hung his head. "I don't want to learn anymore today. There's still so much I don't understand but… I just can't… Please, Rangiku?"

"Say no more. I understand."

He nodded keeping his back to her. "Yes, thank you."

Slowly, he walked over to the couch and sat down. He put his knees together and laid his hands atop them, leaning forward. In doing so, he almost looked like a girl working up the nerve to talk to the cute boy she liked. But Rangiku didn't dare to tell him that. She knew it wouldn't help. So instead, she sat down next to him and put her arm around him.

"You'll be just fine, Captain."

This time, he didn't correct her from addressing him by his usual title. He must have been worn out, mind and body.

His stomach growled and he turned his head to hide his blushing face.

She smiled with a soft chuckle. "I'll go and get you something to eat. You just stay here and rest, ok?"

He looked at her as she stood up and then turned away, keeping his eyes to the floor. "Yes, thank you."

And so she got up and left the office.

It was all so overwhelming. He couldn't understand any of it. He never felt so confused in his life. At least, not that he could remember. He hated having amnesia. He wanted to remember. He really did.

He lay on the couch flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling. He reviewed what he had learned that afternoon. None of it made any sense to him at all. He just wanted to take a nap and wake up with all his memories. But that was unlikely, wasn't it? Why could he only remember his name? Why was he in the street? Why any of this? He covered his face with his hands and rolled onto his side, facing the back of the couch. This was so frustrating. He prayed for a miracle.

_I need something. Anything to help me remember. Please! Someone just help me out, please!_

His prayers were answered when he heard a song.

Lowering his hands, Hitsugaya sat up on the couch and looked around. "Singing?" The voice was loud and clear but no one was around. "Who's there? Who's singing?"

No one answered him. All he heard was singing.

He got off the couch and walked to the window. It was coming from outside. He opened the window and stuck his head out. No one. Nothing but the wind…

… And that song.

It was very comforting. It cast a strange spell over him, making him feel calm. It was very soothing. It was as if an unseen hand reached out and caressed his face like a summer breeze. He wanted to find the singer. But for some reason his legs would not work. They had gone numb. So instead, he just closed his eyes and listened to the song. It was like ocean waves lapping up onto the shore.

When he opened his eyes, he was greeted by big blue orbs staring back at him. He jumped back in surprise.

The girl only smiled and chuckled. "Sorry for startling you like that. So how have you been?"

Hitsugaya stepped further away, keeping a good distance between them. Something about this girl made him feel nervous. "Who are you?"

She moved closer. "Sapphire."

He pulled a chair out and hid behind it. He wanted to keep the distance between them. "What are you doing here?"

Again, she moved closer. "I'm here for you, of course."

Using the chair as a shield, Hitsugaya moved backwards towards the other side of the room. "Why me? What do you want with me? What's this about?"

She advanced towards him again. "I'm here to take you back."

"Back? Back to where?"

"Home. With me and my sisters. You don't belong here."

Taking another step back from her, his back hit the bookcase. He could go no further. "What do you mean I don't belong here? What's that mean? What are you talking about?"

She scoffed. "So many questions. Come on, already. Come with me." She extended her hand out towards him.

Putting his back against the bookcase, Hitsugaya leaned away from her. "Stay away from me!"

"What's wrong with you? I've come to save you."

"Save me? Save me from what?"

"From here. From this place. You don't belong with those people. You belong with us. Now come with me."

Now only a step from him, Hitsugaya thrust the chair between them towards her stomach. "Back!"

"Hitsugaya, put the chair down."

"No! And how do you know my name?"

"I told you that you belonged with us."

"Us?"

"My sisters and myself. Now come."

"No!" Like a lion tamer, he held the chair up, pointed at her slender body. "Stay away from me! I'm warning you!"

She looked at the chair as if he were threatening her with a stuffed animal. With a flick of her wrist, she cast it aside. It slammed into the floor, breaking two of its legs. That action was done so easily, like she hadn't even tried to make an effort of it. She must have been strong.

Hitsugaya pinned his back against the bookcase, unable to move any further away from her. "St- stop! Don't come any closer! I- I'm warning you! There's a woman that will be back here in a few minutes- seconds, even! She'll take care of you! So- so don't-!"

She didn't stop smiling for one second. She wasn't frightened at all by his empty threats.

"Sister!" A second girl hopped through the window and into the room. "You found him?"

"Indeed. But he won't come."

This girl was quite pretty. She was wearing a light purple kimono covered with blossoms and flower petals. She had this charm about her that made it hard for him to resist coming to her. Some sort of magnetic pull was willing him over to her. It was all Hitsugaya could do to remain in his currant spot.

She moved closer to him can cast her big hazel eyes onto his. "What's wrong, Toshiro? You don't remember us?"

Trusting this girl a little more than the other, he answered with a shake of his head.

"How disappointing. Sister?"

The one called Sapphire raised her hand. "I'll make him remember us."

As she moved her hand towards his head, he pushed her away and ran behind a desk. "No! Leave me alone!"

"Toshiro, it's us. It's Lavender and Sapphire. You know us."

His mind was spinning. He didn't know them, did he? He didn't know! "I don't know! I don't know! I can't remember!" He sank to his knees holding his throbbing head. This was all too much for him.

The sisters exchanged looks.

"What do you think?"

Sapphire sighed. "Just as I thought. I never did finish the job. Looks like he only remembers his name."

"Why is that?"

"Because I never meant to erase that from him. I left him with his name. But that's about it. I didn't replace anything yet."

"I see." Lavender looked at Hitsugaya whimpering on the floor. "Let me see if I can calm him."

"I expect nothing less from you, little sister."

So Lavender crutched down to Hitsugaya's level and tried her best to coax him out from his hiding place. "There, there, Toshiro…"

He looked up at his name being spoken so gently. His name sounded so good coming from her sweet lips. She was smiling gently at him.

"I won't hurt you."

Her words were very assuring. He did trust her. But he was still frightened. Having no memory meant that he couldn't tell the difference from a friend or enemy. Her sweet words could have been a trick.

"We can help you. My sister and I can make you remember."

Those promising words pulled at the strings of Hitsugaya's bewildered and swaying heart. He wanted to believe that so much. He was desperate to remember. He looked into her eyes and detected no lie behind those words. They were the truth as far as he could tell.

He started forward. But then something held him back. Something still didn't feel right. So many conflicting emotions! He was curious about them, he was desperate for answers, he longed to remember, but he was also afraid. Afraid of what he might find. He was afraid that it could all be a trick, of what his memories had to hold, if they would hurt him in some way. He was afraid.

Lavender lowered her head and looked him straight in the eyes. "I promise… Please, trust me." Her words sounded like a song. It put him at ease.

Lulled by her sweet, gentle tone, Hitsugaya finally took her hand and allowed himself to be pulled up by her strength. She was fairly strong. She helped him to his feet and escorted him over to her elder sister.

As she started to raise her hand, he pulled away again.

"It's alright," Lavender assured. "She's going to return your memories to you. But in order to do that, she must touch your head."

Putting his trust in these two girls, he nodded and turned his head back toward Sapphire. Allowing her easy access to his skull, Hitsugaya closed his eyes and waited. No sooner had he done so did he feel her warm hand on his forehead.

Then there was a strange tingling sensation.

* * *

"Captain, I brought you din-" Rangiku dropped the tray of food on the ground finding the window wide open and no trace of her captain anywhere. "Oh, no!"

In no time at all, word quickly spread around the Seireitei of Hitsugaya's disappearance. Everyone was told to keep an eye out for the amnesia-stricken captain and any news regarding his whereabouts was to be reported immediately. In the meantime, Squad 2 was now given two jobs: keeping an eye out for the threat plaguing the other villages near the Soul Society and to search for Hitsugaya. It was entirely possible that Hitsugaya's disappearance and the activity in the civilian villages could have been linked. They couldn't rule anything out.

Squad 10 was at a great loss now. Not only did their captain have amnesia, but he was also missing! Why was this happening now? Rangiku felt awful. He had been in her care during his disappearance. This was all her fault! If only she had been more attentive and vigilant. She felt terrible! She vowed to not stop her search until he was found.

But that wasn't all that was happening at the moment. Squad 2 had just been informed that all the children from all the villages had just been returned. To Soi Fon and everyone else, this was indeed odd. The moment Hitsugaya went missing, all the children had been returned to their homes. What in the world was going on around here?

* * *

Led by the two girls, Hitsugaya stepped through the barrier and was wrapped in fog.

"Right this way, Toshiro." The soft feminine voice didn't match the strength he felt resonate from the palm of Lavender's hand, urging him onward. Her hand was nice and warm. He really didn't mind it being there at all. It made him feel safe.

The fog cleared and Hitsugaya blinked a few times for his eyes to adjust. His feet touched grass. The next sight he saw was breathtaking.

A beautiful mansion shrouded in light and vegetation.

"This is our home."

It wasn't overly fancy, but it was furnished elegantly. Rather than a traditional Japanese mansion, it looked more like a colonial mansion. But the large stone pillars in the central garden took back to a much older age like Greece and the Orient. All in all, it was beautiful.

Hitsugaya could hardly believe that he was living here now. Like a curious child, he raced towards the garden. He wasn't surprised to see that it was filled with all sorts of beautiful flowers. There were so many colors! It was wonderful. He inhaled deeply and took in the sweet floral smell. It tickled his nose. His wondering legs carried him toward the tall stone pillars in the center of the garden. There he found a large working fountain with fresh clean water and Lilly pads. He checked it for frogs but was disappointed. But that was alright. There were still so many things to see.

He turned and took in the sight of the garden from his new point of view. There were rose bushes lining the stone path leading to the place he was at now. There were also rose bushes lining the side of the house he now called home. But there were other bushes filed with freshly bloomed flowers of all different colors.

He looked to the side and spotted a white table and some cushioned lawn chairs. That looked like a good spot to hang out and have a nice picnic. Then he turned his gaze back up to the large mansion that was his new home. _Three stories. Wow! _He could only imagine what it was like on the inside if the outside of it looked this wonderful.

Sapphire and Lavender walked through the garden and stood by the table he had been checking out earlier. "Well, what do you think?"

He hurried back to the two girls with a big smile. "I love it!" Unable to contain himself, Hitsugaya wrapped his arms around the two of them in a big hug. "So I'll be staying here with you guys, right?"

"Of course! What, did you think that we were going to chain you outside like a dog? No, you'll be staying inside with us."

His smile grew at Sapphire's words.

"You'll have all the freedom you could want, just as long as you stay true to your duty. You remember what that is, don't you?"

Lavender watched Hitsugaya's lips as they moved to form his words.

"I am here to serve and protect you with my life!" He put his hand over his heart as if swearing an oath.

Lavender looked back at her sister as she nodded.

"Good. Well spoken." Then her face became gentle and extended her hand towards him. "Come on. Let's see the inside."

He took her hand without hesitation and followed.

Lavender followed after them. She quickened her pace to catch up with her sister. Once at her side, she asked, "So now what?"

"What do you think?" she said without turning to look at her. "We find our little sister."

"And him?"

"Isn't it obvious? He's going to help us do that. I've got it all worked out. Being a Soul Reaper, they'll welcome him back with open arms. Inside, he'll have easy access to everything. And being a captain, he should have no problem with anything. He'll be able to do anything he wants and go where he pleases. He should find her in no time at all."

"So we're sending him back?"

"Only to find Ruby."

"Then?"

"After that, he'll stay with us."

Lavender stopped walking. "What? You mean forever?"

Sapphire stopped as well. "We need protection. We have to keep him close. You understand."

"But…"

She turned around. "But what?"

Lavender avoided her eyes. "But nothing, big sister…"

Sapphire took Hitsugaya's hand once again and led him inside their large home. After a few minutes of hesitation, Lavender followed as well.

* * *

The plot thickens. Please review! ^-^


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

"Ichigo. Come on, Ichigo. Wake up, Ichigo!"

He sleepily rolled over and pulled the covers up over his head.

With a huff, Rukia grabbed the covers and pulled them off his body and onto the floor. "I said get up!"

He groped for the covers and moaned. "Go away..!"

"Up!" She kicked him. "Up, I said! Get up!"

Ichigo sat up in bed and grabbed her leg, preventing her from kicking him again. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"It's 11:20 in the morning."

"I went to bed at around 5:00am! I'm tired!"

Hopping on one foot, Rukia slapped his hand away shouting, "We have an issue!"

He released her leg and rubbed his head. He was still pretty groggy. "This better be good."

"Far from it. Captain Hitsugaya has disappeared!"

Ichigo looked up. "Toshiro?"

"The same."

He looked back at the mattress. "What is it this time?"

"He's vanished! Didn't you hear me?"

"Yeah, I heard you. Explain."

She pulled up a chair. "Listen, I haven't been here for a while so I'll fill you in. The other night, we believe that Hitsugaya was attacked by a new enemy threatening the Soul Society. We found him laying in the street unconscious. When he came to, he could only remember his name."

"So he has amnesia?"

"Sort of. He was being treated for it when he disappeared. He was in Rangiku's care at the time."

Ichigo swung his legs over the side of his bed and cracked his neck. "Where did he go?"

"No one knows. According to Rangiku, he was still in the office when she left him to go get him some dinner. When she returned, he wasn't there anymore."

"Seems like the smart thing she should have done was take him with her."

"Ichigo, you're missing the point!" Rukia had had it with him. "Don't you get it? He's gone! A captain with total amnesia is wondering around out there somewhere and no one knows where to look! Don't you see how serious this is?"

Ichigo stood up with a sigh. "Yeah, I get it. But why are you telling me this? Isn't everyone out there looking for him right now? Why do you need me?"

"I need you to keep a look out for him here, just in case he somehow makes it to the World of the Living."

He shot her a look. "And that couldn't have waited until _after_ I had finished sleeping?"

"You are so lazy!"

"Hey! Do you have any idea what it's like being a Soul Reaper living a double life, going after Hollows, going to school, dealing with my father's sneak attacks at all hours and putting up with nut jobs popping up all over the place?"

She crossed her arms and shifted her weight to one foot. "I happen to be a full-time Soul Reaper. You don't think I have work to do, too?"

"I'll trade!" Ichigo started to pick up the covers from off the floor and make his bed. "Jeez! My dad and my sisters are finally out of the house and here I thought I could catch up on some sleep. But, no! I had to be woken up out of a sound sleep by you of all people and told to do your job for you! Give me a break!"

"Listen here, you-" Her pocket started beeping. It was her Soul-pager. She took it out and flipped it open. "Ichigo!"

"Now what?"

"They found him! Hitsugaya's back!" She looked up, but Ichigo had already gone back to bed. "Idiot!"

* * *

"How's he doing?"

"Just fine," Unohana smiled. "In fact, he seems to have gotten his memory back. But I would still like for him to rest."

"Understood!"

Ignoring the conversation, Hitsugaya snuck around the corner and started to explore. He rounded another corner and tiptoed down the hall. "Ruby!" he called in a whisper. "Psst! Ruby, where are you?"

This was proving to be quite difficult. She could have been anywhere in the Seireitei. There was no guarantee at all that she would be down this hall of all places. But he knew his mission. He had to find her and bring her home safely.

"Ruby!"

"Captain?"

He jumped and spun around. "Yes?"

"What were you doing?" Rangiku asked.

"N- nothing. I was just… Well, what are _you _doing?"

"Nothing. Come on, let's get back to the office." She moved to put her arm around his shoulder but he slapped her hand away.

"Don't touch me!"

It was her turn to jump this time. She had never heard him speak to her that way before. He had yelled at her, sure, but never like that. His voice was full of hatred and malice. Almost like he hated her. "Captain, what's the matter?"

His face lightened up, but only just. "Sorry. I don't want to be touched."

"Ok. Just tell me sooner next time. Sorry."

He gave her a bitter look and went towards his office.

Yes, 'his' office. The one these stupid Soul Reapers gave to him. It was all so very clear to him now. In the few short minutes he had spent with Sapphire and Lavender, he had regained all of his memories. And his 'false' life. Now he knew the truth. The reason for his confused state from before, his memory loss, all those mixed feelings… It was all so clear to him now. They were implants of a false life. Those Soul Reapers gave him those false memories to make him one of them. They needed a strong man like him, and to make sure that he joined, they gave him false memories. While under the belief that he was a captain, he acted as such. He fought as one, acted like one, even spoke like one. But he wasn't one. He was never a Soul Reaper. They just made him think that he was for their selfish and evil plans.

He was really a protector. Yes, a protective body guard for Sapphire, Lavender, and Ruby. They were his family. He loved, protected and served them. Yes, that's right. He remembered now. This was his life- his true life. This wasn't a lie.

Those Soul Reapers… Those damn, evil Soul Reapers! Changing him into something he wasn't for their own purposes! Making him lose sight of what was really important, his family, and those three wonderful girls! He _hated _Soul Reapers! They were evil!

And now they had Ruby!

He had to find her!

Hidden miles away, safe in their private barrier, the two sisters waited to hear from their new slave.

Lavender sat on the couch and looked out the window, hugging a throw pillow to her chest. "Sister?"

"Hm?" Sapphire grunted.

"Do you… think that he is alright?"

"Of course he is. He's strong, ain't he?"

"Yes, but… I mean…" She hugged the pillow closer. "What if he reacts to the false memories you gave to him?"

Sapphire kicked her legs in the air. "As far as he knows, he's always been our servant and loves us more than anything. What's the problem?"

"But he now thinks that the Soul Reapers are bad and-"

"They are bad!"

"Yes, I know that. But I meant that since he thinks that now, and also believes that they are the ones who gave him false memories of a false life and not us… What if he tries to attack one of his friends and-"

"Former friends," Sapphire corrected.

"But what if he does and his cover his blown? What if they label him as a traitor and isn't allowed back? Then he can't find Ruby!"

Sapphire rolled onto her stomach on the loveseat and rested her cheek in her open palm. "Then we'll just have to find someone else who can help us. Unlike your singing talent, my powers work on everyone. It should be no trouble at all finding someone else to work for us."

Lavender was about to say something but decided against it and remained silent. She wished for Hitsugaya's safe return. She wished for his _and_ her sister's safe return.

* * *

He ripped open doors and flipped through files. No record of her appearance, so that meant that no one had found her yet. No one knew she was here. That's one good thing at least. But behind every door, nothing greeted him. She was nowhere to be found.

"My poor, sweet, little Ruby…" he sighed sadly. "Perhaps if I hadn't let myself be fooled by the people here, I could have prevented your escape. I could have stopped you from running off the way you did. You were always such a little ball of energy. Your cuteness has a way of charming people so no one could ever tell you 'no'. But I love that about you, too. I love your free spirit." He touched his hand to his face and sighed longingly. He wanted nothing more than to find her so they could all be reunited once again.

"Captain, would you like something to eat?"

He turned with a throaty growl. It was that woman again. His 'lieutenant'. She hadn't stopped bugging him all day. What, did she want to make sure that their little brainwashing was still in effect?

"No, I'm not hungry."

"Oh, I see." She took a seat next to him on the floor. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine."

She wasn't so sure. "You've been acting differently."

Crap! Did she discover the truth?

"You seem a lot more… I don't know, angry."

"Oh, that. I'm just pissed that I let that happen to me, that's all."

It was a good cover-up. She seemed to have believed it for she had nodded and stood up. "I see. Alright, then. Is there anything you'll be needing before I go?"

He shook his head. "No. I just want to be alone."

"Ok. I'll see you in the morning, ok?"

"Fine."

She walked away, taking one final glance back at her captain. Though he insisted that he was fine, she still wasn't so sure. He seemed different somehow. And that worried her.

Once she was gone, Hitsugaya went back to his search.

* * *

Ukitake sat back in his chair feeling overwhelmed. _How can this be? _He thought. _It's all so strange. Hitsugaya wouldn't just run off like that now would he? Then again, he did have amnesia… That could have caused him to panic and act like that. Who knows?_ He looked out the window at the setting sun. _But something still troubles me… Those children at those villages… They all suffered memory loss. Perhaps that was done by their captor to ensure he'd remain nameless. Could it be that Hitsugaya had been attacked by the very same person responsible for all those missing children? Then that means that the threat is even closer than we thought! They could already be here, within our walls! _

He swiveled about in his chair. There was so much to think about he didn't even know how to sort through them all. He reached for his teacup, but found that it was no longer there.

"Hm?"

He looked from left to right. Upon looking left again, he discovered a small girl sitting atop his desk.

"What the..?"

The girl kicked her legs over the side of the desk in a playful manner and sipped on his teacup. Once finished, she lowered the cup and gave him a big bright, brown-eyed smile. "Hi!"

Ukitake looked the red-headed girl up and down. She was so tiny! She was at least half the size of Hitsugaya. And her flowered kimono was so pretty. She looked like a little doll. "Um, hello, there."

"What's your name?" she asked innocently.

"My name? Well, you can call me Captain Ukitake if you like. And who are you?"

"Ruby!" She pumped her little fist into the air as if speaking her name was enough of a reason to celebrate.

He smiled at her cuteness. "Well, now, aren't you something? However did you get in here?" Ukitake loved children so he knew enough to keep his voice sweet and gentle.

She giggled. "I dunno! I just wandered in here!"

His smile deepened. "You really are something cute, you know that?"

Ruby giggled again. "I know I'm cute! Super cute!" She threw her hands into the air.

"Yes, you are!" Ukitake could hardly contain himself. It was all he could do to keep from picking her up and hugging her 'til her eyes popped out.

Without a word or warning, she hopped into his lap with a bounce. "You've got a nice warm lap!"

"Uh, why, thank you." He didn't know what to say. "So, I, uh… That is… Um, where is your family?"

She gave a shrug. "How should I know? I wandered off a few days ago."

"Who do you live with?"

"My two big sisters! They're names are Lavender and Sapphire. They're really pretty. Lavender's weird 'cause she's always worried about something. And Sapphire's all, like, bossy and stuff. But they're both really nice! You'd like them!"

"I'm sure I would." He blinked, realizing that he was quickly losing sight of what was important at that moment. "Uh, excuse me. But would it be ok if I ask you some more things?"

She pumped up her arm, flexing her muscles. "Shoot! Fire away!"

Unable to contain himself anymore, Ukitake blurted out, "How did you ever get so cute?"

Once he realized what he had said, he covered his mouth and wondered what in the world possessed him to say that.

"I dunno. I'm just cute! Aren't I?"

Ukitake looked into her sparkling eyes and went to pieces. "Oh, my gosh, you're so CUTE!" He picked her up in his arms and hugged her tight.

Loving the attention, she hugged him back with a giggle. "Aw! You're so nice. Mr. Ukitake!"

"By all means, you can call me Uncie Ukitake!"

"Uncie like uncle? Tee hee! That's a great idea!"

And so Ukitake was lost.

* * *

"Ready…"

"Set…"

"GO!"

Iba and Ikkaku threw their hands down. Ikkaku had picked paper, Iba chose scissors.

"I won. It's your turn. Go get the sake."

"No way! You went after me!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Fine! Let's go again, for the high ground, this time."

"Fine by me!"

They both went again.

"Tie!"

They went again.

"Tie!"

And again.

"Tie!"

The next 27 times were the same as well.

"Tie!"

"Would one of you please decide already?" Yumichika asked from his spot off to the side. He had been laying down trying to take a nap for some time now while watching the sunset. Too bad he couldn't until one of them decided on who was going to go fetch the sake.

"Stay out of this!"

"Fine." He rolled over onto his side and tried to relax.

"I said, get the sake!"

"No! You get it!"

"No way! You!"

"You!"

"You!"

"You! You picked rock!"

"I got your rock right here!" Ikkaku threw a large stone down from the roof where it sailed over Iba's head and missed Yumichika by inches.

"Hey! Watch it!"

"Me? He moved!"

"That does it!" Iba unsheathed his sword and lunged at Ikkaku.

"Finally! Let's go, princess!"

"What did you call me? Show some respect!"

"Then respect that I won and you know it!"

"Forget it!"

Yumichika got up with a huff. "That's it! I'm out of here!" He stormed off in the other direction. There was no point in hanging around if he was only going to be another target for them to swing at. And he'd much rather not get hit in the head today, thank you very much.

There was no stopping the fight now. Iba and Ikkaku battled, coming at each other with full force. Their blades clanged and sparks flew. In the middle of an attack, Iba faked and moved right instead, slamming into Ikkaku's chest and sending him flying into the nearest building.

"Ha! I win! Get the sake!"

But Ikkaku didn't appear or shout back. As the smoke cleared, Iba could see a large hole in the wall where he had sent Ikkaku through.

"Oh, crap…" He didn't mean for that to happen.

Inside, Ikkaku clawed his way out from all the rubble, sword in hand. "That bastard didn't have to hit me so hard! Look what he did to the freakin' wall!" He yelled over his shoulder at Iba. "That's a re-do!"

"Come on!" Iba shouted back up, slight whine in his voice.

As Ikkaku prepared to jump out the gaping hole in the wall, something caught his attention. He looked over his shoulder. He had landed just outside Ukitake's office. And, was it his imagination, or did he hear the captain giggling like a girl from behind the door? Curiosity peaked, Ikkaku went to investigate.

"Who's my widdle, iddy-biddy, cutie-wootie?"

He could clearly hear the captain speaking in singsong. That was rather odd. Ikkaku pressed his ear to the door and listened.

"You're so adorable, I can hardly stand it! You're so super cute!" Ukitake's voice kept rising in pitch. It made him sound like a high-pitched girl!

"Tee-hee-hee! You're funny!" he heard another voice say. This one did sound like a young girl, though. Were there two people in that room?

"Is there anything I can give you, Ruby-wuby?"

"Um… Candy!"

"Have all you want!" There came a thud as Ukitake placed a big bag on the desk for her to help herself to. "There you go!"

"Yay! Candy!"

He could stand it no longer! Ikkaku opened the door and stormed in. "Hey, what's all this about? What's with all the noise?"

To his surprise, Ukitake actually growled at him. "Hey! Do you mind? Can't you see we're playing here?"

"Eh?"

"I said, we're playing in here! Go away!"

A small red-headed girl popped up out of nowhere and pointed to Ikkaku. "But it might be more extra fun if he joined us, too!"

Ukitake's smiling face had returned at her words. "That's a wonderful idea!" He turned to Ikkaku. "What do you say?"

Ikkaku snorted. "I don't play. And who is this brat anyway?"

"Brat?"

"I'm Ruby!" she chirped, taking no offense to the term 'brat' directed at her.

Ikkaku only glared at her. He hated kids! Working with Yachiru was bad enough! And this girl was even smaller than she was. Hopefully she wasn't as hyper and evil. That was a sickening thought, having twin Yachiru's.

She tugged on his pant leg for attention. "Uh, so what's your name?"

"Ikkaku," he grunted.

She smiled. "I like it!"

He looked into her brown eyes. It was then that he became aware of a strange new feeling he had never had before. He didn't even know what it was, it was so foreign to him. But those brown eyes of hers seemed to be pulling him in.

"Want to play with us, pretty please?" She stuck out her lower lip for effect.

For some odd reason, he almost felt like complying. But he fought back the urge to agree to that invitation.

But then Ukitake started up again. He rested his chin upon his hands and chuckled at her. "She can dance, too. Did you know that?"

"How the hell would I know that? I don't even know what she's doing here and you're not giving me any answers to anything I'm asking!"

Ignoring him, Ukitake waved Ruby to perform. "Go on, dear. Show him your cute little dance."

"Ok!" Ruby skipped around the room until she found a good place to begin. She hopped up and down to warm up and then started to do her little dance. She hopped on one foot then the other, skipped and did it all over again. It was a stupid three-step dance that even the most uncoordinated person could do.

So then why did Ikkaku find it so captivating? He couldn't take his eyes off of her for a moment.

Then when she started humming to her little dance, he fell apart. In a very uncharacteristic way, Ikkaku smiled cheerfully and cooed, "Aw, how cute is that?" No sooner had the words left his mouth did he blink in confusion. _Why the hell did I say that?_

She continued her dance and this time, Ikkaku lost himself completely.

In an extremely uncharacteristic way, he bent down, scooped her up in his arms and hugged her tight. "Oh, my God, you're so cute!" he rubbed his face on the top of her head. "I love you!"

* * *

Lavender could stand it no more. She had had enough waiting around. Throwing the pillow to the floor, she slammed her feet to the floor, using the speed and force of the movement to fling herself off the couch.

"That's it! It's been too long! I'm going after him!"

Sapphire brushed her bangs out of her eyes in an innocent gesture, but her words come in a way that was anything but. "You know we can't do that."

"But Hitsugaya is taking way too long! I'm worried!"

"You worry way too much. I'm sure he's fine."

Lavender took three steps closer to her sister. "You speak as if he's expendable."

"He is."

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. To Sapphire, Hitsugaya was nothing more than a tool that could be used to their advantage and then tossed away the moment it became useless. But to Lavender, Hitsugaya was a living, breathing human being. He wasn't a mere tool, he was a person whose life had meaning. She couldn't just sit back and wait for him to die. Now that Hitsugaya was under the belief that he was with them and the Soul Reapers were the enemy, there was no telling what kind of trouble he could get himself into. For all they knew, he might have already attacked a Soul Reaper resulting in the Soul Society labeling him as a traitor. Once that happened…

"If he is caught, how will he find Ruby then? What if he attacks a Soul Reaper and they detain him or something?"

Sapphire wasn't at all worried. She seemed very confident. "I gave him specific orders not to attack anyone unless they pose as a threat to one of us. Unless Ruby is in grave danger, he will not attack anyone. Stop worrying."

Lavender marched towards the door and grabbed her shoes. "I'm going out there to find him. Don't try to stop me!"

There was no danger of that happening. Sapphire sat quietly in her chair and watched her lace up her heeled sandals. Even if Lavender was leaving, she was confident that Hitsugaya would protect her. At the first sign of danger, he would rush to her aid. That much she was sure of.

Lavender paused only for a moment to see if her big sister was actually going to try to stop her. When she gave no indication of doing so, she stood up and put her hand on the doorknob. With still no sign of her going to prevent her from leaving, Lavender opened the door and left.

* * *

Hitsugaya slammed the book he had been reading on the ground. This was pointless! Useless! There were no records of anyone being captured or brought in. Ruby was completely unknown. Perhaps this was a good thing in that no one knew about her ensuring her safety. But this also meant that Hitsugaya would have to continue his blind search. She could be anywhere by now. If people did know about her then she would have been in the records as a prisoner, thus making it easier for her to find. He would know the cell number and the building she was in and how long she had been there and whether or not she had been injured.

"Damn it!" He kicked the wall. "Hang on, Ruby. I swear I will find you."

Meanwhile, down below the tall towers of the Soul Society, a young girl moved stealthily through the streets. There was only one way for her to know where he was at that moment. So she opened her mouth and began to sing.

Hitsugaya's ears perked up and he spun around. "Lavender…" He rushed to the nearest window and looked down.

She was a mere speck in the distance, but there she was, singing to him.

Illuminated by the lamps, Hitsugaya opened the window and waved down to her.

Spotting his gesture, she waved back. He was ok after all. Now satisfied that he wasn't in danger, she changed the pitch of her song, sending him a message.

_Come to me_.

Obediently, he complied and packed things up, getting ready to leave. He was almost done putting away all the books when her song abruptly stopped.

Instinctively, he knew something was wrong. "Lavender..!"

* * *

"Who are you?"

Lavender backed up in fear. Two Soul Reaper were standing before her. The one on the left looked strong but timid. But the one on the right with the eye patch looked scary.

"I said 'who are you'?" Kira repeated. "Don't make me ask again.

"She has no right being here," Kenpachi growled. "You heard our orders. Due to this new unknown threat, we must treat everyone as an enemy."

"Sir, she's just a little girl!" Kira tried to stop the captain of Squad 11, but it was easier said than done. Sometimes there was no reasoning with him. "Please, let's not start something we'll end up regretting later."

Deaf to his words, Kenpachi started to unsheathe his sword. "Alright, girl, unless you want to get hurt, be good and come with us."

As soon as her eyes saw that chiseled blade, a flood of horrid memories came back to her. They showed her grim images of the people she knew, all drenched in blood, being cut down one by one. She watched in horror as severed heads came flying at her, landing at her feet. She hid in the shadows, petrified, watching helplessly as they all died around her. There was nothing she could do.

"_Lavender!"_

She watched as the hand of one of her closest friends reached out for her, only to be cut down by the enemy's blade.

"_Help me!"_

She couldn't do anything.

"_Please! Please help me!"_

Her legs couldn't work. The next thing she felt was the hand of her sister grabbing her from behind and pulling her away.

"_Come on! We have to run!"_ Sapphire cried. Turning her head, Lavender could see her older sister's face covered with blood and tears.

They dodged bodies left and right. One by one they all died, crying out, begging for mercy. Screaming for the help that would never come.

In the crimson glow of the fire engulfing their home, the last thing Lavender saw was the smiling face of a man. His blade was the color of blood and his black kimono was covered in their friends' blood. As he raised his blood-splattered face, she could see the clear presence of the man's smile. The Soul Reaper was smiling, standing atop his kill, bathed in red.

She hated it. She hated it all. The cries of her people, the fire, the blood, the screams, and that man's twisted, snake-like smile.

Seeing that sword brought it all back to her. The image she wanted to forget. The reason they hated and feared Soul Reapers. That attack was one of the bloodiest they had ever witnessed, but it wasn't their last. No. No, they had seen it all before so many times. And there was always a Soul Reaper there. Every single time… But it wasn't always the same man. That meant that their enemy wasn't one man, but all Soul Reapers. They are murders. All of them. And now here she was staring down the blade of her attacker.

Here she was going to die. She had been lucky so far, but not anymore. This Soul Reaper was going to kill her. And once again, she found herself petrified.

"I said come here, girl."

Without even thinking, her legs moved back, away from him and his blade. She didn't want to die.

"Don't move, I said. Now come here!"

Independent of her will, but grateful it happened, her legs spun her around and took off down the nearest street. She was running away.

"Hey! Get back here!" Kenpachi took off after her.

"Captain, please wait! You're frightening her away!" Kira raced after him. He was afraid this would happen.

Lavender ran as fast as she could far, far away from him. She had to get away. Those horrible visions reminded her of how scary and dangerous Soul Reapers were. They only wanted to kill. And she wanted to make sure that she wasn't next. She had to get away. Far, far away from here.

"Stop!"

She skidded to a halt in the middle of the street. At least a dozen Soul Reapers were surrounding her, blocking off any means of escape.

"No..!"

It was the rest of Squad 11. They wanted part of the action, too.

"Good work, men!" Kenpachi landed on a rooftop.

Lavender looked up and saw him smiling. A twisted smile. It reminding her of _him_. The smiling Soul Reaper who killed her people. Back to the wall, she shielded herself with her hands. "No…"

Kira listened closely to her trembling voice.

"Please, no… Don't kill me, please..!"

"Captain!" he scolded. "You've frightened her!"

"What? That's ridiculous! How am I scary?"

"Look how scared she is! She thinks we're going to kill her!"

"We will if she runs."

"Sir!" Kira hopped down from the roof and landed a few yards from where she was. He tried to keep his voice soft and calm. "It's alright. We're not going to hurt you. We just want to talk. Please don't run off again. You see, that man over there is kind of rough around the edges. He doesn't know just how scary he can be sometimes. Please calm down."

Despite his comforting words, she was still frightened. She hid in the shadows, cowering. "Please stay away from me!"

Kira held up his hands, showing her that he had no weapon out to harm her with. "See? I'm not going to hurt you. Please just talk with us. All we want to know is who you are and what you're doing here. Can you please tell us that?"

She shook violently. She wasn't calming down. This was bad. In this state, she couldn't even cast her spell on them. Her voice would be shaking and cracking with fear. Not only that, but she was surrounded by adult men. Her voice worked best on children. She hadn't mastered adults yet. What was she to do? All she could think about was dying here.

"Stand back!"

Kira jumped and turned. "Captain Soi Fon…"

She stood on another rooftop overlooking the scene. She only had a handful of Squad 2 members with her. "Stand aside! This is a job for Squad 2 to deal with, not you."

"Yes, but…"

"I said stand aside!"

At her imposing tone, several of her squad members started to pull out there blades.

The girl whimpered and hid behind her hands, knowing what was to come.

"No, wait, please!" Kira tried to settle things without causing a huge fuss. "This girl is scared out of her mind! Please! Captain Soi Fon, she doesn't have a weapon and she's frightened. She thinks we're going to kill her! Please, isn't there another way to-"

"Out of the way, Izuru Kira!" Soi Fon threw her arm out to the side, signaling her men to move in. "This is not your fight! You know as well as I that we were given orders to capture anyone suspicious within these walls! We have an unknown enemy out there, or have you forgotten that?"

"N- no. I just…"

Squad 2 members were already moving in, forcing Squad 11 members back. Their work here was done. Each one of them had a blade pointed to Lavender. They all looked very intimidating. To her, they must have looked like monsters.

In fact, Lavender couldn't take it anymore and fell to her knees. She was defenseless. There was only one thing she could do now. She threw up her head to the sky and cried out one name.

"TOSHIRO!"

A snarl came loud and clear, riding on the wind. The chilling breeze foreshadowed his arrival. One squad member sensed it fast enough to react. He spun around, blade drawn and a shrill clang rang out.

Hitsugaya had come to her rescue. He forced the other man's blade back and stood in front of her protectively.

"It's the captain of Squad 10, Toshiro Hitsugaya!"

Soi Fon didn't looked too surprised to see him as much as she was to see him actually attacking her men. _What the hell does he think he's doing?_

Clutching his sword in one hand, Hitsugaya stuck out his other to help shield Lavender from harm. "Are you alright?"

Her legs still too weak to move, all she could do was sit on the ground and nod her head.

Hitsugaya stared the others down, eyes full of fury. "Not another step closer!"

"Captain Hitsugaya, what is the meaning of this?"

Still shielding Lavender behind his back, he snarled up at Soi Fon. "I'll kill you…"

"What was that?"

"I'll kill you!"

Her men exchanged bewildered looks before looking up at their captain for orders.

Soi Fon kept her face strong and fearless, hiding her true feelings behind her mask. "Why are you doing this?"

Hitsugaya didn't answer.

"Why are you doing this?" she demanded. "She's the enemy! Why are you defending her?"

Lavender managed to find some strength in her legs and stood up. "Toshiro…"

Without looking back, he muttered, "I will protect you with my life."

There was no longer a reason to fear. He meant what he said. She trusted him. But what about the others? What were they going to do to him?

She wasn't going to let this one slip away. Ignoring Hitsugaya's promise, Soi Fon ordered her men to move in. "Captor her! Get that girl!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

In a flash, they disappeared from view at the very same moment Hitsugaya did. There was a clang and suddenly Hitsugaya came back into view pushing back a squad member's blade. Three more clangs rang out as he confronted several others. A couple of men came within inches of Lavender, but that was as far as they would go. Hitsugaya slammed them back. He swung his sword, catching the moonlight on its blade as he brought it down on another attacker. He was doing great.

One man got a little too close to her, reaching out with bandaged hands, and Hitsugaya acted swiftly. He grabbed the attacker by the back of his black shirt and threw him to the ground. He stood over him, sword raised high.

"Toshiro, please don't kill them!" Lavender cried out.

At the last second, Hitsugaya redirected his blade and cut into the man's shoulder rather than his neck. He had to obey her wish.

Soi Fon couldn't believe what she was seeing. Hitsugaya was actually attacking them with the intent to kill! She had no choice by to treat him as an enemy. She pulled out her own weapon and got ready to move in.

Lavender threw herself onto Hitsugaya's back, hugging him around his chest. "Please, no more. I want to go. Please, can't we just run away?"

He lowered his sword slightly and agreed. "If that is what you wish."

But there was no time. On her command, Soi Fon and all her men attacked at once.

"Stand back!" Hitsugaya ordered and Lavender jumped away from him. "Reign over the Frosted Heavens, Hyorinmaru!" There was an icy chill and a powerful whoosh.

Lavender covered her eyes in fright. All she could hear was a whooshing noise and a chilling screech. Then all she could hear were shouts and screams followed by the unmistakable cracking of ice freezing. When she opened her eyes again she found all of the Squad 2 members including Soi Fon frozen in place. They were incased in ice from the waist down. She looked to the side and found Kira hiding behind a building. He was the only one who had escaped the attack. Kenpachi and his men were no longer in sight, but it was doubtful that they simply ran off. Perhaps they had listened to orders and backed off like Soi Fon had told them. Either way, it appeared to be safe.

Other than a few minor cuts and bruises, most of the squad members appeared to be unharmed, which was exactly what she wanted. Unlike her older sister, Lavender wasn't hounding for blood. Sapphire would have ordered Hitsugaya to kill them all if she were here. Lavender just wanted to get away without giving the Soul Reapers a reason to kill her.

"Toshiro, please…"

She didn't need to say anymore. He knew what she wanted. He sheathed his sword and bent down on one knee. "Get on."

So she climbed onto his back without another word. She brought her legs up over his hips and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He stood up, piggybacking her. She hid her face in his white head of hair and took in his icy scent. He smelled just like freshly fallen snow and ice crystals.

Hitsugaya then turned his attention over to the woman slashing at the ice with her sword and nails. Soi Fon was fighting to free herself before they could escape, but the ice was far too thick for her to break through. Growling in frustration, she looked up at him.

For a moment, their eyes met. Those were his eyes alright, but they were full of hatred. Hatred directed at her. Glaring back into her eyes, Hitsugaya uttered his final words to her.

"Don't follow me."

With that, he flashed stepped away, carrying the girl off into the night.

* * *

Toshiro! Please review! ^-^


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

"Where is he?"

"He's resting."

Sapphire peered into the next room where Hitsugaya was fast asleep on the couch, blue blanket covering his legs. He looked cute, like a little boy during his afternoon nap. His arms were drawn up to his chin and his lips were slightly parted.

After allowing herself to indulge in such a cute sight, she turned back to her sister, her eyes now filled with anger. "Do you have any idea how foolish you were?" She was keeping her voice down for Hitsugaya's sake, but Lavender could clearly hear the malice in her voice. She was mad.

"I'm sorry, sister, but-"

"Don't sister me! You could have gotten yourself killed! It's a good thing he was there to save you."

"But from the way you were acting, I thought you didn't care!"

"Of course I care!" Sapphire grabbed her sister's shoulders and dug her nails into her skin. "How could you think I didn't care? I can't lose anyone else!"

Lavender's face softened.

"I knew he would be there to help you if you needed it."

"So it was a test? You were testing him to see how much of our control he was under?"

"No, not test… Not exactly. I knew he would help you. I just…"

"So it was a test?" Lavender pulled away from her sister's grip. "That's why you didn't stop me. I knew you could stop me if you really wanted to. I knew it."

"Believe me, I knew you were in no danger. Believe me! You know how much I love you. You're my little sister. How could I not?"

"But you wanted to see how strong he was, right? You wanted to see how well he could protect me. But you also knew that I wouldn't be in danger." Then Lavender's eyes hazel eyes darkened. "But then… if that were the case, then you also knew that he may not come back."

It all made sense now.

"You knew I wouldn't die because you would have had him die first! You would have had him die protecting me! That's why you did it!"

"Lavender…"

"You were testing to see how sturdy he was. You wanted to see if he could protect me while coming back alive. I knew you thought of him as nothing more than an expendable tool. You don't care about him at all!"

"That's not true!"

"Other than caring enough that he's strong enough to protect us!"

Sapphire said nothing.

"I knew it!" She tried to storm off to her room but Sapphire grabbed her arm and held her back. "Let me go!"

"Lavender, listen to me!" She pulled her back and held both her hands in hers, preventing her from going anywhere. "Can you blame me for being this way? Can you? After all the horrible things we witnessed? I've given those Soul Reapers every chance to make things right but all they've ever done was attack our village and kill all our friends! How can I forgive them? How can I overlook all of that? Every time I see a Soul Reaper all I can see is a heartless murderer! All I see is flame and blood."

Lavender remembered what had happened to her just a little while ago when she ran into those Soul Reapers. She had experienced the very same thing.

"And Hitsugaya is a Soul Reaper as well."

She looked into Sapphire's blue eyes.

"How can I not see him as another one of them? He's a Soul Reaper, too. All Soul Reapers are evil. He's no different other than the fact that he is now under our control."

"So you treat him as a tool?"

"I don't know how else to treat him. All I ever learned from Soul Reapers is how life just isn't fair and how easily they can take anything they want. I'm sorry but I just can't see myself treating them as human beings. I can't treat them with kindness like someone who really matters."

Lavender had nothing to say to her. She knew she was right but at the same time she also knew that she was wrong. She had mixed feelings about the whole thing. Perhaps she was just too kindhearted a person to hate every last one of them. Or was it that Hitsugaya was different from them in that he was under their full control and therefore saw him in a different light? It was anybody's guess.

Hitsugaya rolled over onto his other side, back now turned to them.

Sapphire watched him for a moment before turning her attention back to her younger sister. "It's late. I'm going to bed."

Lavender watched her leave up the stairs to the second floor. Rather than following her, she turned into the room with Hitsugaya and sat on the floor next to the couch. She ran her fingers through his hair and smelled her fingertips. They smelled just like his hair. Like ice and snow.

"Thank you, Toshiro."

* * *

Ichigo jumped from building to building across the World of the Living. "Damn it!" he cursed under his breath. "And just when I thought I didn't have to get involved for once!"

It had been hours since Rukia showed up in his room with the news of Hitsugaya's betrayal. After Soi Fon and her troops were thawed out, they went straight to the Head Captain and told him what had happened. In a matter of seconds, Hitsugaya went from captain of Squad 10 to traitor. Everyone thought that he was guilty of treason. All the facts were there: he attacked a fellow captain and her squad members, he aided the enemy and ran off with them after threatening to kill them all.

But Ichigo wasn't so sure. Soi Fon was quick to judge and often came to the wrong conclusion. For all they knew, it was a horrible misunderstanding. Even Rukia thought so. That's why she came to inform him of the news.

And that's how Ichigo found himself involved, searching high and low for any sign of the young captain in the World of the Living. Why he would be there of all places was beyond him, but when you were on the run, you were on the run. He could have been anywhere by now.

He stopped in the middle of the park and watched the younger children run past him without so much as a glance. He walked past women on park benches with their babies, old men playing chess or chatting about the good old days, young women jogging and people walking their dogs. There was no sign of Hitsugaya anywhere.

"Ah, why the hell would he be here anyway?" Ichigo rubbed the back of his neck and put a hand on his hip. "Why would Toshiro come to the World of the Living anyway? Rukia's got no idea what she's doing anymore. Why'd she have me look around here of all places? I should be looking for him in the other world. Too bad I can't get there without help… Damn it!"

He kept walking through the grass keeping an eye out for him. He stopped when he found an all too familiar head of orange hair peering around from behind a tree, checking out the teenage girls in miniskirts walking down the stone path.

"Kon!"

"Ahh!" His body gave a jump and fell back into the grass.

"I didn't give you my body so that you could spy on girls!"

"Hey, is that really my problem?" Ichigo watched his own lips say with Kon's attitude backing it up. "Then why did you bring me along?"

"To help me find Toshiro. Now get up and start doing your job."

Kon pouted. "I would much rather be with Rukia! How'd I get stuck with you?"

"Get up!"

Ichigo and Kon combed through the park looking everywhere. No sign of him.

Then they went into the woods to search.

"Ichigo, I wanna go home!"

"Shut it."

"But I do! There's nothing to do! We're never gonna find him and besides, Rukia's not here to save your ass if you get into trouble."

"Hey! If anyone gets me into trouble, it's you! You're the one who's always-" Ichigo ran headlong into what felt like a brick wall and fell backwards into the leaf-covered grass.

Kon stood over his body. "You ok?"

"Ow!" Ichigo sat up holding his nose. "No, I'm not ok! Something just hit me!"

Kon looked around. "I don't see anything."

"It was right there!" Ichigo pointed straight ahead, but all they saw were trees. "I knew I ran into something. I'm sure of it."

Kon stuck an arm straight out directly where Ichigo had been going before he fell. His arm started to vanish before his eyes. Gasping, he wrenched it back. "Holy crap, did you see that?"

Ichigo stood up and stuck his arm out as well. But instead of disappearing into nothing like Kon's, Ichigo's hand hit a solid wall. "It's some sort of barrier."

"Way to go, genius." Kon repeatedly poked his fingers through the air where they disappeared into nothingness. "But here's what I want to know: why am I the only one who can go through?"

Ichigo wanted to know that as well. He looked from Kon to himself and then had an idea. "I think it's a barrier to repel Soul Reapers. Which means…"

Knowing what was to come, Kon backed up. "No way! Back off! Get away from me!"

Ichigo grabbed him and pressed the Soul Badge to his forehead. The light green orb that was Kon popped out of his mouth and his body went limp in his arms. Ichigo slipped back into his body and stuck Kon into his pocket. He reached forward and his hand passed through the barrier.

"So humans can use it. Now the question is, who put it up?"

He pushed his way through the barrier and found himself in a world of fog. Everything was white. He couldn't see an inch in front of his nose. Nonetheless, he pushed onward. He had been walking in a straight line for quite some time now and was beginning to wonder if he would ever find his way out.

Finally, the fog began to clear and he found himself standing in front of a large mansion. He stopped in his tracks, dumbfounded. What was a mansion doing all the way out here in the middle of nowhere? This place was like a dream. But it was also real. He would feel the wind in his hair and the warm sunshine on his face. There was also a strong smell of flowers in the air. It was very tranquil. He looked back and saw nothing but a field of grass. But he had just come from there and there wasn't any grass before.

Then it all became clear to him. He was in another dimension. Not everything here was real. It was created to suit the owner of this place. The horizon he saw was nothing more than a painted canvas. This reality wasn't very big at all.

Rather than dwell on the technicality of this place, Ichigo decided to continue his search. He moved forward toward the mansion. Surely a mansion of this size would have someone around to answer a few things for him. One of his first questions would be why they wanted to keep Soul Reapers out but not human beings. That made very little sense to him. What if a human somehow managed to stumble upon this place? Then they would be the ones answering a bunch of questions. There would be no end of trouble if that were to happen.

Ichigo got to the large double doors and prepared to knock. But then he had another idea. He decided to sneak around the side of the building and see if there was anyone else around. As he recalled, there was a distinct scent of flowers in the air which could only mean one thing: there was a garden nearby. And if there was a garden then surely someone would have to be around to take care of it.

His hunch was correct. Around the side of the mansion, he discovered a large garden. It was beautiful.

He was on a roll today. There sitting in a deck chair was an all too familiar head of white hair. Just the person he was looking for.

"Toshiro."

He just sat there in the deck chair, apparently unaware of his visitor.

So Ichigo moved closer and called again. "Toshiro."

This time he got a response. Hitsugaya whirled around in his chair and jumped to his feet. He faced Ichigo with large eyes. He reached for his sword which was propped up against the side of the round white table next to his seat. "Who are you?"

Ichigo stopped in place just a few feet from where he stood. "Huh?"

"I said, who are you?" Judging from the tone of his voice, he wasn't about to repeat himself a third time.

"It's me- Ichigo. Wait, don't you remember me?"

Hitsugaya moved his hand away from his sword, now certain that this person wasn't a threat. He eyed Ichigo up and down, studying every detail of him. "Ichigo you said? Hmm…"

"Toshiro, you don't remember me at all?"

Hitsugaya cocked his head from side to side, thinking. "Nope. But you must know me because you know my name."

That's right! If he remembered correctly, Rukia had told him that Hitsugaya had amnesia. Was that why Hitsugaya didn't remember him? That would explain why he didn't correct him for calling him Toshiro like he usually did.

"That's ok. It's ok that you don't remember me. It's been a while."

That's when Hitsugaya did something he had never done before: he smiled. And it wasn't a grin, either. It was a big cheerful smile, much like the kind a child would show when receiving a brand new toy. Smiling brightly at him, Hitsugaya said, "Well, I guess it's ok that you're here, even if I don't know who you are. At least you're not a Soul Reaper."

Ichigo blinked. "Huh?"

"I said that it's a good thing that you're not a Soul Reaper."

"Why don't you think I'm a Soul Reaper?"

Hitsugaya pointed to his T-shirt and jeans. "Because Soul Reapers wear black kimonos and have big swords. You don't have that stuff."

Confused to know end, Ichigo decided to go with his gut and play along. Maybe he would find out some information that way. "So tell me, Toshiro, why don't you like Soul Reapers?"

His expression changed from cheerful to bitter. "Because they're evil, that's why. They take whatever they want and hurt people for no reason. And they hurt the girls!"

"Girls?"

"The girls I live with. They hate Soul Reapers and fear them. It's my job to protect them."

"Oh, that's right. I almost forgot that that's what you do." He really had no idea what he was talking about, but he kept playing along anyway. "So remind me, just how long have you been protecting them? I lost track."

"All my life!" Hitsugaya confirmed with a nod. "I've always protected them. It's my job, after all."

Now he was starting to see some inconsistencies with his story. "But wait a minute. If you hate Soul Reapers, then why are you dressed as one?"

Hitsugaya looked down at his outfit. "Oh. Sorry about the confusion. I'm not really a Soul Reaper. I'm supposed to be getting some new clothes soon."

"If you're not one, then why are you dressed like one?"

"Because I was kidnapped by the Soul Society a while ago and they brainwashed me into thinking that I was one of them to lure me away from the girls I protect and use me for their own purposes. But I managed to break free from their control and made it back here."

Ichigo couldn't hide the twitch in his left eye. What a story! And it was all a huge lie! What the hell did this amnesia do to his brain? He was seriously screwed up. He ignored the urge to smack him upside the head and asked him his next question. "So just how many girls are you protecting here?"

"Three."

"Oh, really?"

"Yup!"

"How many are with you right now?"

"Two. Sapphire's upstairs and Lavender's over in the garden."

"Oh." Ichigo looked around, but could see no one.

Hitsugaya sat back down in his chair. "We just finished breakfast a while ago. Do you want anything?"

"Uh, no thanks." Ichigo watched Hitsugaya's every move. It was Hitsugaya alright, but he was so different. Perhaps it wasn't the Soul Society that brainwashed him. He suspected these girls had a little something to do with it. Now he had about a million questions for the little captain. "Listen, Toshiro, I-"

"Shh!" He put a finger to his lips. "She's about to sing."

"Hm?" Ichigo looked up and saw a young girl walk out into the middle of the garden wearing a light purple kimono and white heeled sandals. She looked very pretty. But Ichigo wasn't going to be fooled by her innocent looks. He knew she was one of the girls who had brainwashed Hitsugaya. "Which one's that?"

"That's Lavender." Hitsugaya made himself comfortable in his chair and watched her make her way across the grass.

She was moving very slowly, as if trying to work up the nerve to sing her song. She looked from flower to flower, as if looking for the right words. She cupped her hands before her chest as if wishing upon a star. She took a few deep breaths.

"Toshiro…"

"I said, shh! Don't interrupt."

"But…"

Ichigo silenced as Lavender paced the garden, preparing to sing. He had anticipated the first notes from the songstress's mouth to be modest or even the sound one would hear from the average girl in the neighborhood. But he was betrayed by his expectations. What came from her throat were not words, but a beautiful sound. It took hold of him in a matter of seconds and soon he was watching her, open-mouthed.

It was the voice of an angel.

Now more comfortable with her performance, Lavender began to move more elegantly across the garden, now adding her arms in with the song. Her hands orchestrated the range and pitch of her song. She even added a few spins to her movement as well. She was dancing and singing like a star.

Hitsugaya laid his head atop the table and watched from the folds of his arms. "Mmm… Pretty, isn't it?"

Pretty didn't even begin to describe her voice. It was magnificent. The song rang in the air of the garden, mesmerizing all who heard.

Suddenly weak, Ichigo's legs gave out on him, forcing him to collapse into a deck chair next to Hitsugaya. The song had a way of calming him. He doubted if he even had the strength to raise his arms. His body felt numb but in a pleasant way. It was very relaxing.

He looked to the boy on his left. Hitsugaya was sprawled out over the white table, resting his head in the folds of his arms. He looked quite comfortable and mellow.

"Hey, Toshiro?" Ichigo's voice was as weak as he felt.

"Hm?"

"So, you're staying with her?"

He gave a weak nod. "Yeah… I'm never leaving. I'll stay here and protect them forever…" His quiet voice sounded like a sigh to the wind.

Too tired to question him further, Ichigo slumped in his chair and watched the rest of Lavender's performance.

* * *

After what felt like hours, Ichigo finally left the barrier far behind and went to find Rukia. There was really no point in dragging Hitsugaya back with him at this point. With no memory and believing that he had to stay and protect those girls, it was rather pointless to make him leave. But now he knew where he was and what was going on. Now all he needed were answers.

Rukia jumped down and landed next to him on the street. "Well? Any luck? I couldn't find him."

"Yeah, but I did."

Her jaw dropped. "You did?"

"Oh, yeah."

"What do you mean 'oh, yeah'? We're looking everywhere for him and the entire Soul Society thinks that he's a traitor and all you can say is that? Where is he?"

Ichigo looked over his shoulder and then back to her. "Back there."

She followed his gaze. "Back where?"

"Later."

"What do you mean later? This is important!" When Ichigo didn't say anything, she knew something was up. "What happened back there? What's wrong?"

Ichigo looked from the woods back to her with a sigh. "I think we have a problem."

* * *

I'll say. Please review! ^-^


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

With nowhere to go and no one to turn to, Ichigo went with his gut and decided to ask an expert. Unfortunately, the only expert they had at the moment was a certain sandal-wearing jerk in a small shop down the street. And to make matters worse, he seemed to be in a very sadistic mood today.

Kisuke poured them all some tea and sat down at the round table in the back room. "So what's up?"

Rukia started. "Have you heard the news about Captain Hitsugaya?"

"About his supposed betrayal? Oh, yeah. I heard a little about that. So you think there's something else going on, too, huh? Glad to know I'm not the only one."

Yoruichi sat curled up in cat form on a plush pillow by the table, black tail waving back and forth. "What information do you have for us to work with? I'd like to know what we have to go on."

Rukia told them what happened. They all listened carefully to every word. "And then he just ran off with the girl. No one knows where he went or why. But now everyone is calling him a traitor. I know that he wouldn't do anything like that. Even Rangiku agrees with me. She knows he would never leave the Soul Society the way he did."

Kisuke sipped on his tea. "Are you thinking that it maybe wasn't him?"

"No, it was him. That's already been confirmed. No clones, and no one disguised as him. It was Hitsugaya alright. So now everyone's out there looking for him. Squad 2 has been given orders to bring him down on sight. I know there's more to this, so I'm trying to find him before things get any worse. I have a few other people helping me with that. But so far no one has found him yet." She looked to the person on her right. "Except for you, Ichigo. You found him, didn't you?"

He held his teacup in his hands without a word or glance in her direction.

Kisuke grinned at him. "So you found him, huh? Good for you! What'd you find out?"

"That's exactly what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh?"

"Yeah." He set down his cup. "I've got a hunch that you might have some information for what's going on."

"Shoot."

"First of all, Rukia told me that Toshiro had amnesia when he vanished the first time. But when he returned, he was fine. I don't think that's right. I think he's still screwed up."

"What makes you say that?"

Ichigo raised his head, show Kisuke his eyes. "Because he doesn't know who I am."

Rukia blinked. "What? But how could he not? He knows who everyone else is. He even remembered my name and we're not even on the same squad. He knows Rangiku and Soi Fon, Kira… How could he not know you?"

"My point exactly." Ichigo looked back at Kisuke. "Well? Any ideas?"

Kisuke shrugged. "I don't know much about amnesia other than the fact that it means that you've lost your memory. Sorry, can't help you there."

"But here's the thing," he went on. "When I found him, he was inside of a barrier. And not just any barrier. It's designed to repel Soul Reapers. The only way I could get in was by using my own human body."

Yoruichi frowned. "So someone wants to keep Soul Reapers out..? But then how could Hitsugaya be inside of it, being a Soul Reaper himself?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's meant to keep him in, too. I couldn't say."

Kisuke sat back, thinking. "Hmm… So Hitsugaya runs off, is found in a barrier designed to keep Soul reapers out and can't remember who you are?" He tapped his chin. "I got nothing."

"Anything else, Ichigo?" Yoruichi asked.

"Yeah, that's the other thing. Apparently someone's screwing around with his mind. He thinks that he's not really a Soul Reaper but was brainwashed by the Soul Society to think that he was one in order to fight for them. He thinks that he's supposed to live there in order to protect a couple of girls who hate Soul Reapers and thinks that they are the enemy."

"That would explain why they brainwashed him into thinking that… That way it would be easier for him to fight against other Soul Reapers, not knowing that he's one of them himself. It's easier for a number of different reasons."

Rukia looked to the blond man hiding behind his hat. "So what do you think? It's obvious now that we're up against a new enemy. These girls must be out to get the Soul Society."

"Now wait a minute, Rukia," Ichigo interrupted. "That may not be true. According to Toshiro, they hate and fear Soul Reapers because they're 'evil'. Something must have happened to them to make them think that way. Besides these girls are young. The one I saw looked no older than Toshiro. I don't think they're the enemy."

"Just how many of these girls did you meet, anyway?"

"Only one. But Toshiro said that there were three of them. I think he said that her name was Lavender."

Kisuke looked up. "Did she sing?"

Ichigo and the others got quiet. "Uh… Yeah, she did…"

"Oh! That explains it!" Kisuke smiled from ear to ear. "I know those girls! Man, are we gonna have some problems with them now that they have him." His smile shrank but didn't disappear when he saw the disgruntled and shocked looks on their faces. "What?"

"You mean to tell us that you know who those girls are?"

"Well, yeah."

"And you didn't bother to tell us this before?"

"You didn't ask. Besides, you didn't tell me their names or anything. If you had, this would have gone a lot faster."

"Then would you mind telling us who the hell they are and what the hell's going on?"

"Fine. Don't yell at me. Sheesh…" Kisuke gathered himself together and explained. "Ok, those girls are known as The Three Treasures."

"The Three Treasures?"

"Yup. They aren't any regular souls. Far from it. They are more along the lines of spirits. You see, they were never given a human form so, therefore, were never 'alive'. Not in the same sense that you are, Ichigo. You are human, you have a body and a soul, and you were born. Them, on the other hand, not so much. They were never born. They have no mother or father. They're spirits.

"But Toshiro said that they were sisters."

"They are. Each one of them has a special power or talent, but they all relate to the same thing: they can control people in some way, shape or form. Sapphire is the oldest sister, and I believe that she's the one who got to Hitsugaya. You see, she can alter memories and can force people into enslavement. As the oldest, she has the most control over her powers. Lavender is the middle child. Her main talent lies in her voice. When she sings, she casts a spell over anyone who hears it."

Ichigo recalled what had happened to him in the garden. "Yeah, I witnessed a little bit of that."

"But she doesn't have full control of her powers yet. So far, she's more along the lines of the Pied Piper in that her song works best on children. But she is improving. Soon, she'll be able to affect most anyone."

"And the last one?"

"That would be Ruby. She's the baby of the family. She has almost no control at all. She affects people with cuteness."

Ichigo's eye twitched again. "Say what?"

"You heard me. She cute-ifies people into submission."

Ichigo slapped his forehead. "Oh, my God… Come on."

"Really. And it's a lot more dangerous than you think. After all, you can't attack someone you find utterly cute and adorable. You'd do anything she wants." Kisuke sighed. "However, she is quite young. All she is interested in now is finding someone to play with. She's an attention seeker. But since she can't fully control her powers yet, her spells are all over the place. In other words, the spells she places on her victims are mostly random and sometimes her cuteness won't work on them at all. It's hard to predict. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Hard to say."

Rukia wasn't getting it. She understood their powers enough, but was unclear of their motive for capturing Hitsugaya and attacking the Soul Society. "But that doesn't explain why they hate Soul reapers."

Kisuke drained his teacup and made himself more comfortable. "Ah, now that… That's where it gets tricky. You see, I don't know all the details, but I do know this… In the past, the Soul Society has attacked them more than once for apparently no reason."

Yoruichi's tail stopped wagging.

"It was reported that a village was completely destroyed by an unknown attack. They said it was the work of Hollows, but I wasn't so sure. Later on, there was a call for help from another village. They were under attack by Hollows and needed help. Squad 5 was sent to check it out. They came back and said that they fought hard but couldn't save everyone. But they reported that all the Hollows were dead. Later on, there was a request for aid from another village which also suffered from a Hollow attack. They said that it was taken care of, but Squad 4 was never dispatched to that village and they are the ones who offer aid. That had me suspecting a thing or two."

"But what does that have to do with the girls?"

"The fact that they were living at each of those villages when they were attacked."

Rukia stopped speaking. She understood.

"My guess is that they have a grudge against the Soul Society because of those attacks. Most of the time, help came too late or not at all. But there are too many things that don't add up. Which makes me think that something is happening behind the curtain."

Ichigo felt the same way.

* * *

The windows rattles softly as the wind brew outside, rustling through the trees. It was so peaceful here. It was so far away from anyone or anything. Here they could finally live in peace. Here no Soul Reapers could get to them. Here they would be safe.

Lavender drew her attention away from the window back down to the boy sleeping in her lap.

The sheer tranquility of this place was taking its effect on Hitsugaya. Everything seemed to make him sleepy. Lavender didn't have the heart to move him. He looked so cute lying there like that and she really didn't mind having him sleeping on her lap.

As she ran her fingers through his white locks, he cooed and shifted in his sleep. He drew his fist up closer to his face and rubbed his nose on her knee. She made a pretty good pillow.

But of all times and of all places for him to nap, why did it have to be here and now? There was a full tray of fresh cupcakes sitting on the table in front of her, but they were just out of her reach. She couldn't reach the tray with Hitsugaya on her lap like this. And she was so hungry.

She inched closer ever so slowly and carefully. She stretched her arm out as far as it would go, but the tasty treats were still out of grasp. She moved closer, dragging Hitsugaya with her. Just as she was about to touch one of them, Hitsugaya slipped from her lap. Gasping, she reached down and caught him before he could hit the floor.

His eyes opened. "Huh?"

Lavender pulled him back onto the couch with a guilty look. "I'm sorry. I woke you, didn't I?"

Hitsugaya rubbed his eyes. "It's ok. I should wake up anyway. I'm sleeping too much."

She smiled at him. "It's ok. You can rest if you want."

As if knowing what she wanted, Hitsugaya handed her a cupcake from the tray. The one with the strawberry on it. "Here. Would you like this?"

She took it with a smile. "Thank you. You're so sweet."

"Not as sweet as that cupcake," he joked.

She giggled and he smiled. He liked hearing her laugh. And he was happy that he was the one who brought that smile to her face.

Then her smile started to fade again.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She broke the cupcake in half and offered it to him. "Would you like some, too?"

"Thanks." He took a bite. His eyes lit up as he devoured the tiny cake. "Mm! It's good! I've never had a cupcake before!"

She looked surprised. "Oh? Never?"

"Nope. In the Soul Society, they don't have cake." He wiped the frosting from his mouth. "I'm so glad I'm out of there. It's much better out here with you guys."

She avoided his eyes as she asked, "So… you're happy here with us?"

"Sure am!" Hitsugaya smiled. "I love it here!"

"So then… You're happy? You like it?"

"Are you kidding? Of course I'm happy. I love living out here with you guys. I really love it. I love being with you."

It made her happy to hear that. But she wasn't sure how to feel about it. The life he was living now was a false one. What about his family? Wouldn't they miss him? And now the Soul Society thinks he's a traitor. All his friends were out to kill him now. It was all her fault. She felt so guilty. As much as she loved having him around, she knew that it wasn't the life he was meant to live. It was all a lie. A false life.

But he looked so happy.

Sapphire put him under their control. He was influenced to protect and serve them, not to be happy. Did this mean that he was happy on his own? Did he really, truly like being here with them? That smile on his face wasn't fake. He was really happy.

Lavender smiled and patted his head. His smile deepened.

"Toshiro…"

"Yes?"

"May I sing for you?"

Hitsugaya's turquoise eyes lit up. A song dedicated to him? What an incredible honor! Nodding his head vigorously, Hitsugaya cheered, "Yes! I would like that very, very much! Please sing! Thank you so much!"

She smiled back with a soft chuckle. She had no idea that he would be so joyful. Taking in a deep breath, she found the perfect voice and the perfect song. A soothing lullaby.

Her voice was incredibly beautiful. He always loved hearing her voice, no matter the song. And this afternoon he was treated to a lovely lullaby. In no time at all, it started to take its effect on him and started yawning.

Her pink lips formed each note perfectly, filling the room with her heavenly voice. Her face was just as angelic as her song.

Hitsugaya rubbed his eyes and crawled back onto her lap, ready for another nap. In only a matter of seconds, he was out like a light.

She continued singing, matching her voice to the rhythm of his soft snores.

* * *

"So how do we fix this?" Rukia asked the group. "Normally I would say that we should inform the Soul Society of this finding, but that could do more harm than good in this case. After all, now that Hitsugaya has been labeled a traitor, the first thing they would do is go forth and capture him as quickly as possible without asking any questions and anyone else whom they believe to be an accomplice. And if it's true that these girls really are afraid of Soul Reapers, then that would only further enforce it. That would make matters worse. Not only that, but if Ichigo is right and the barrier is built to keep Soul Reapers out, then that's another problem we have to face."

"So the plan is..?" Ichigo inquired.

"I have no idea."

"What? But you always have all the answers!"

"Don't yell at me! I've never run into anything like this before!" After getting out her frustration, Rukia calmed herself and went back to speaking calmly. "You see, Ichigo, after what happened with Aizen, the Soul Society isn't going to look at this in a lenient way. They're not going to take any chances. But if Hitsugaya truly has no idea what's going on then…"

"Then there's nothing we can do." Kisuke lowered his hat over his eyes with a sigh. "We can't make a move without making things worse. No matter how you look at it, we just can't win. If the Soul Society got word of Hitsugaya's whereabouts, then they would find a way to force their way in and attack them full force. That would only increase their fear of Soul Reapers and panic. That little move would only convince them that they are the enemy. And if that's the case, and Hitsugaya's been brainwashed to protect them at all cost, then he would charge right in there and fight to the death for them, wounding and possibly killing his own comrades. Not only that, but if he's being treated like a traitor, like I'm sure he would be all things considered, then they would kill him the first chance they got. But now, if the girls had their way, then they would keep Hitsugaya for as long as they pleased. But it's not like we can just show up there. Even if we weren't attacking, they would panic at the first sign of Soul Reapers and Hitsugaya would attack us. Plus, we can't enter there. The barrier would keep us from getting inside."

"Don't forget, Kisuke," Yoruichi said. "We don't know their whole story. If we don't know the reason why they're afraid of Soul Reapers, then it would be hard to try to fix it. We can't get close to them without causing a panic and the Soul Society would only attack them without thinking to talk things out."

"So what we need to do is figure out a way to talk to them without causing a panic and without the Soul Society knowing about it."

"I'll go." Ichigo started to get up from the table.

"Don't be stupid, Ichigo!" Rukia scolded him. "You can't do that!"

"Oh? And why not?" He stood before her, allowing her a full-view of his body. "Right now, I'm not a Soul Reaper. I'm human. And humans can pass through the barrier they've set up. And let's not forget that I'm the one who found a way to him in the first place! I've spoken with him. He trusts me. I can ask him things and get more information for you guys."

"But Ichigo," Yoruichi spoke in her male voice. "When you went there last time, no one but him saw you. What if one of the girls finds you there next time? She might cast a spell on you."

"Not likely. I thought you guys said that Lavender's song only affects children."

"Not necessarily," Kisuke wagged his finger. "Hitsugaya was affected, wasn't he?"

"But he's still just a kid!"

"He may be young, yes, but he isn't as young as you think he is, Ichigo." Kisuke leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "Come on, be honest. When she sang her little song, didn't you feel anything?"

Ichigo thought back to that moment in the garden. He had found her voice to be incredibly beautiful, that was for sure. But he had also felt very strange. "I think I see what you mean. When I heard her sing, I felt really weird. Almost like I was floating. I felt really weak all of a sudden and had to sit down. I wasn't sleepy, exactly, but I was feeling a little weak. It was actually very soothing. I kind of liked it."

"See? Her voice affected you, too. You see, she is getting a lot better at controlling older people as well now. It's not just children anymore."

"So you have to be careful, Ichigo."

He nodded. "Don't worry. I'm just going to return there to ask him a few things. I'll be in and out of there quickly. And since I won't be dressed like a Soul Reaper, they'll have no reason to be afraid of me. I'll be careful. I'll play it cool. And I'll make sure that the Soul Society doesn't know where he is, yet. Don't worry about a thing."

Kisuke nodded and looked to Rukia. "And you?"

She blinked, confused at first. But then she understood what he was implying. "Right, I got it. I won't breathe a word of this to anyone. You can count on me."

Kisuke smiled back and clapped his hands together. "Alrighty! We got a plan! Let's hop to!"

* * *

Please review! I love reviews! ^-^


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: **

"Here you go! This is for you, Toshiro!"

Lavender sat a rectangular box in front of him on the table. Hitsugaya looked at it curiously, wondering what it could be. "For… for me?"

"Uh-huh. Open it up."

"Hurry up."

Taking the girls' advice, Hitsugaya lifted the top off the box and looked inside. Pink tissue paper was concealing some sort of cloth inside. He brushed the paper aside and took out the garment. It was a turquoise kimono with green leaves printed on it. It even came with a green sash. It matched his eyes.

His eyes lit up and sparkled, holding the kimono as if it were made of glass. "For me? Really?"

"Yup. That's your new kimono," Sapphire told him. "Now you don't have to wear that ugly Soul Reaper uniform anymore. Do you like it?"

"I love it!" Hitsugaya jumped up and down, unable to contain his joy. "Can I try it on?"

"Go right ahead."

Carrying his new kimono in his arms, Hitsugaya ran off to the other room.

This left the two girls alone in the spacious room to talk. Lavender chose to sit in a cushioned chair seated at the wooden table. She was the first to speak.

"So now what?"

Sapphire took the seat next to her. "What's that mean?"

"You know what I mean. You got him new clothes. He no longer has to dress like a Soul Reaper. Is that better?"

"Better?" She spoke as if she had never heard that word before in her life.

"Better in that he'll no longer remind you of a Soul Reaper. Now that he won't be dressing like one, are you going to view him more as a person now rather than a disposable tool?"

Sapphire rolled her eyes. "Not this again..!"

"Answer me!"

Sapphire looked back at her sister. "Simply by changing his clothes isn't going to change the fact that he's a Soul Reaper. It simply means that he's now working for us. That's all."

Lavender frowned. "So he's still a tool to you… isn't he?"

"His job is to protect and serve us. Nothing more."

The younger sister didn't believe it. She just couldn't look at Hitsugaya that way. The way he spoke, the way he looked, the way he acted… He was more than a tool. He was a real person. He had feelings. But she wasn't about to argue with her big sister. There was no point. She'd never get through to her.

"Speaking of his job, you blew it."

Flinching, Lavender looked up.

"His cover was blown. You're right. He can't go back there without being brought down by his own people. We can't find Ruby that way."

"So what are we going to do now?"

"I'm not giving up. I'll tell you that much. We're going back there."

Lavender's heart jumped. "What?"

"I'm not leaving our baby sister back there!"

"Yes, I know, but-"

"Listen, if we go back there as a group, we can both use our powers to find her. We can enslave more Soul reapers. We can force them to fight for us, protect us. We'll make them find her."

"But we can't do more than one person at a time! Big sister, you have to touch the person you're controlling! And I haven't mastered my powers yet! They only work on kids. It only worked on Toshiro because he's so young and that I'm just starting to be able to control other people. Please, listen to me. It won't work. We can't-"

"I'll make it work!" Sapphire stood up from her chair. "Ruby is so young. She's our sister. She can't even recall the reason why we hate Soul Reapers, so was too little to remember, thank God. But that won't stop them from killing her if they get the chance."

"Sister…"

"Her powers are all over the place. She can't control them very well. Maybe she'll get lucky and cast her spell on some Soul Reaper and make it impossible for them to hurt her, but it won't work on everyone and we can't wait around and hope for the best. We have to do this."

"Yes, but-"

"So how do I look?" Hitsugaya came back into the room showing off his kimono to them. His turquoise kimono came down to just below his knees and the long sleeves fell halfway down his forearm. It looked a lot like the kimono he had as a child while growing up with his grandmother while Momo went to the Soul Society, but he didn't remember any of that.

Lavender smiled as if nothing were wrong, despite the conversation she just had with her sister. "It looks good on you, Toshiro."

"It brings out your eyes."

"Very cute."

His smile grew even bigger. "Heh heh! Thank you!" He twirled about cutely, making his kimono balloon around his legs like a mushroom. He looked like a little boy on Christmas morn.

"Hitsugaya, we need to speak with you for a moment."

He stopped twirling and hurried over to Sapphire. "What is it?"

"We're going back to the Soul Society tonight to get Ruby."

Lavender's head snapped up. "Tonight? So soon?"

"Of course. We can't waste time." She looked back to Hitsugaya. "Well? Are you up for it?"

He pulled himself into a salute and nodded his head. "Yes! I'm ready for anything. You can count on me! I'll protect you."

She nodded back. "Well spoken. Make sure you're ready for when we call you."

"Got it!"

Lavender sighed and silently packed up the box that contained Hitsugaya's gift.

* * *

Ukitake was having a blast! This was the most fun he had had in a long time. He absolutely loved children and this one was by far the cutest he had ever seen in his life. He picked Ruby up and tossed her into the air, catching her on her way down. She giggled and squealed, ordering him to throw her higher.

"No fair, Ukitake!" Ikkaku whined in a voice that was not his own. "I want to hold her!"

Ukitake pulled her away. "No way! It's my turn! She loves me best!"

"No, she doesn't!"

"Yes, she does! Don't you?"

"No! You love me, right?"

Ruby put a finger to her chin thoughtfully. "Umm… I like you both!"

They went to pieces. "She's so cute!"

The three of them continued their game for the next hour. Ruby hadn't even meant to use her powers on them at all, but it had happened anyway. It had worked wonders on Ikkaku. He had never been so affectionate before in his whole life and now here he was, cuddling and cooing with a small child. And loving it! He was enjoying himself. He was even laughing with her. He had completely forgotten all about his duties for that day and all the training he was supposed to be doing at that moment. He was far too busy to even bother. Right now, all he wanted to do was play with the cute, sweet little girl dancing around his feet.

Only after he had left the office to use the bathroom did he realize something: He was acting so out of character! This wasn't like him at all. He had never looked at things for their cuteness before. In fact, it was as if he had been immune to cuteness all his life. Unlike Yumichika, Ikkaku never judged things by their beauty or cuteness before. He doubted that his eyes could even recognize cuteness. But somehow, just by looking at her, he knew what it was and it was affecting him in a huge way. His chest felt warm and his heart would beat quickly but in a most wonderful way. He felt so light and giddy and his thoughts were filled with fluffy clouds, flowers and little pink bunnies.

He stopped in the hall, scratching his head. Why the hell did he just think that? Pink bunnies? Was Yumichika starting to rub off on him or something?

These thoughts of his were a sure sign of one thing: In being out of Ruby's presence, the spell he was under was starting to wear off. But as he opened the door to the office and walked inside, Ruby's big brown eyes caught his and he had fallen under her spell all over again.

Ukitake sat in the middle of the floor and watched her dance around the room. Just watching her made him fell all warm inside. Oh, how he loved children.

Ruby made her way to the other side of the room and something interesting caught her eye. It was sitting on a tall shelf. She walked up to the bookcase and reached up. It was too high up. She couldn't reach it. So she did what any child would: She rushed over to a chair and pushed it across the room. The chair made a dull screeching noise as it slid across the wooden floor. She placed it in front of the bookcase and took a breath. She was so tiny, her chin was at the same level as the seat. She had to literally climb up into the chair and stand up.

Ukitake was so overcome by her cuteness that he had taken no notice of what she was reaching for.

Ruby stretched up as far as she could, but still couldn't reach the object. She stood on tiptoes. No good. So she leaned to one side, balancing on her left foot, tiptoe, and reached up with her right arm. It only gave her maybe a half inch more reach. The object was still out of her grasp. And so, she started to pull thick books out of the shelf and stacked them up on the chair. She stood on top of those books and was finally able to reach the object she desired so much.

A banzai tree wrapped up in a small pink bow.

Ukitake blinked, a little surprised. _She must have wanted it for the pink ribbon_, he thought.

She jumped down from the chair and skipped over to him, holding the small plant in her tiny hands. "Lookie! Isn't it pweddy?"

His face turned pink and he cupped his face in his hands with a squeal. "Oh! You're so _cute_!"

She paid no attention to him and started to play with the tiny ribbon. After only a few seconds, she lost interest and set it on the floor with a small pout. "I'm bored."

Ukitake and Ikkaku surrounded her and tried their best to be entertaining. But she wasn't interested in anything they had to offer. "What's the matter, little one? What can we do for you?"

She gave them puppy eyes. "I'm bored."

Ukitake took her hand in his and stroked it gently. "What would you like to do?"

She shrugged. "I don't want to stay in here anymore. I wanna go out somewhere fun."

The two men looked at each other. "Well… we could go to the World of the Living, but-"

"There! I wanna go there! Take me there, please!"

Seeing how happy she was, the two couldn't refuse. They agreed to take her.

* * *

Ichigo made his way through the fog and mist as he traveled back beyond the barrier. Soon, he found himself standing before the large mansion surrounded by flowers and bathed in sunshine. But this was no time to admire the scenery; he had a job to do. Despite Rukia and the others practically writing him a script for what to say, Ichigo had already planned everything. He knew what to say and how to play it cool. He was simply going to be friendly to Hitsugaya and get him to tell him what was going on. They needed more information on the situation and were going to get it.

He went straight to the garden and wasn't surprised to see Hitsugaya sitting in a cushioned deck chair. However, he was surprised to see him wearing such a casual-looking kimono. Rather than ask him flat out, Ichigo decided to go with his gut and play it cool. That was the plan: he was going to act friendly and treat Hitsugaya like a close friend. That seemed like the perfect way to build trust.

"Hey, Toshiro. How's it going?"

His white head turned showing off a smile. "Ichigo!" He jumped out of the chair and ran over to him. "Are you visiting again?"

Now, this was weird. Hitsugaya was acting different. He was so… happy. He was acting so childish. How unlike him. This was so out of his character. What happened to him? Could this be a side effect of the brainwashing?

Ichigo forced a smile and patted Hitsugaya's head. Amazingly enough, he actually allowed it. "So how have you been, Toshiro?"

"Fine!"

"So where'd you get that kimono?"

Hitsugaya stepped back and turned in a complete circle, showing off his brand new kimono. "You like it? It was a gift. The girls gave it to me so I wouldn't have to wear that ugly Soul Reaper uniform anymore."

"It looks nice."

Still smiling, Hitsugaya took Ichigo by the arm and pulled him over to an empty deck chair. It wasn't long until they had started up a nice conversation.

It was very relaxing, actually. Sitting in comfy chairs, looking out over the blooming garden, shadowed by the large mansion behind them… It was very tranquil. Ichigo nearly forgot that he was on a mission.

After some nice small talk, Ichigo decided that it was time to get down to business. "So tell me, Toshiro, do you like it here?"

"Of course I do. I love this place. I told you so before."

"What is it that you like about it?"

"Well…" He looked out over the garden in thought. "It's pretty, for one. It's nice and open. There's plenty of room here. And there's lots of great food I get to eat anytime I want." Then his eyes got real big and round. "Oh! And I really, really like living here with the girls! They're so nice! They treat me very well."

"The Three Treasures?"

Hitsugaya's lips parted in a silent gasp. "So you _do_ know who they are! Yes, that is their name! Very few people know that. Not even Soul Reapers, I don't think… So you must be on our side! I knew it!"

"Toshiro…"

"Yes?"

"Remind me, just how long have you been working for them?"

"All my life."

Now it was time to get serious. "But now, wait a minute… If you were captured and brainwashed by the Soul Society, then how could you have been with them your whole life?"

A strange look came over Hitsugaya's face at that moment. He looked very confused at first, but then his face scrunched up as if he were in pain. He put a hand to his head and moaned. It looked like he was suffering from a headache. And as quick as it started it was over. "Oh, I know that. I meant that I was with them until the Soul Society got to me. I wasn't counting that. Luckily they found me and brought me back home where I belong."

_So, that's it! _Ichigo thought in his head. _The brainwashing must not be as strong as we thought. It looks like when he's faced with a contradiction of some sort he starts to break free from their control. I better remember to tell this to Kisuke when I get back_.

After that, things went back to normal for the most part. Ichigo waited a little bit before asking him another question. "Say, Toshiro… I know that you guys don't like Soul Reapers. But I never did hear the whole story. Why are they afraid of them?"

Hitsugaya's aqua eyes met his brown ones. They were no longer filled with bright joy, but rather seriousness. They looked closer to his true self; his real eyes. Something terrible must have happened to make him change so drastically like that. He sat back in his chair and turned his eyes skyward.

"It happened a long time ago. Before you were even conceived. Back when they were living in peace in a village among other people. Back then they were really happy."

Ichigo nodded. "Yes, then what?"

Hitsugaya's eyes turned dark with anger. "Then Soul Reapers attacked their village. They killed everyone, men, women, children, elderly, even babies. They killed them all and burned their village to the ground. Only they survived. They were made to watch it all."

It came as no surprise to Ichigo that something like that had happened. After all, Kisuke himself said that their old village was completely wiped out. But the expression he wore was one of sadness and shock. "How do they know that it was a Soul Reaper?"

"There's no mistaking that black kimono. It was a Soul Reaper alright."

"Well, I sure could understand why they're so upset and angry at Soul Reapers… But some would say that you should forgive and move on. After all, it was just that one time, right? It might have been a mistake."

"It happened more than once. Another one they went to was destroyed as well, and another one they fled to was almost completely demolished and many were killed. That one was attacked a second time and that time no one was left. The others they tried to go to wouldn't let them in out of fear of being next. So they created this place, where they could be safe. No Hollows, no Soul Reapers… This place is an untouched beauty when compared to what they had to go through."

"But if you were with them your whole life, why didn't you protect them from this?"

Again, Hitsugaya got that look on his face as if something were stinging him. And once again, he recovered quickly and answered, "I think it's because I wasn't around yet. Remember, I said I was with them _my_ whole life. They're older than I am. I came after."

"Ah, I see." _Damn! Again that stupid brainwashing kicks in. That's ok. One day, he'll be overloaded with information that doesn't match up and he'll snap out of it. I'm sure of that_.

"Everywhere they go, people want to hurt them," Hitsugaya went on. "And they all turn out to be Soul Reapers. They're the cause of their suffering."

"And that's why they hate them?"

Hitsugaya started to agree then shook his head and said, "No. No, only Sapphire hates them. Lavender is afraid of them. Ruby's too young to remember the attacks so she's indifferent."

"Ok. I get it now."

Hitsugaya let out a sigh. "I really feel bad for them… I should have been there to protect them."

"Don't blame yourself."

"I know…" He looked at the rose bushes. "I just can't help but feel that way."

"By the way…" Ichigo trailed off. Should he tell him?

"What is it?"

"Well…"

"What?"

Seeing the curious look in his eye, Ichigo couldn't help but give in. "I think the Soul Society might have the impression that the girls are the bad guys. They claim that you guys were attacking the Soul Society a couple nights ago and kidnapping children from other villages."

Hitsugaya scoffed. "Oh, that? No, that wasn't an attack. Lavender was just singing her song to lure those children away. You see, Ruby is very social and loves to play with other children so they figured that if they lured the kids away then they could ask them if they had seen her in their village or know where they could find her."

"Then why didn't they just walk into the village and ask them in person?"

"Because no one lets them into the village, remember? Everyone shuns them now thanks to all the Soul Reaper attacks."

That was right! He had completely forgotten about that fact. It looked like they didn't have any other choice.

"And as far as the so-called attack on the Soul Society, that was all a mistake. You see, a couple of Soul Reapers scared Lavender. She was there to see if I was ok and everything. They freaked her out and instead of asking if she was ok or anything, they ordered an attack. They had their swords out and everything! They scared her half to death and then chased her when she ran off out of fear!"

_Were they idiots or what? _"You're right. That's stupid! Couldn't they see that she was already freaked out enough as it was and then they chase her with swords and wonder why she ran off? Dumbasses!"

Hitsugaya agreed with Ichigo completely.

"But why were you guys there anyhow?"

"Like I told you, we were looking for Ruby. She's loose out there somewhere."

It all made perfect sense now. They weren't a danger at all. There were just a couple of frightened girls searching for their little sister. "Just how young is Ruby?"

Hitsugaya held up his arms, showing him her approximant height. "She's about this big… I guess she would only be a toddler in your eyes. I guess she's about 4 tops, in human age."

_Wow, she is small! She's about the same size as Nel… And so young, too. So Ruby is that young and small and she's lost in the Seireitei? No wonder things are a huge mess_.

"Oh, Toshiro!"

His eyes lit up again and jumped out of the chair. "Lavender!"

Ichigo spun around to take a look. This was his second encounter with the siren and his first time seeing her up so close.

She came walking out wearing a light purple kimono and carrying a pitcher of iced tea. She was rather pretty. She was even prettier up close. Hitsugaya bounced the last remaining step and hugged her lovingly. He looked like a small child giving his mother a hug after not seeing her all day.

"Lavender, we have company! Look, it's Ichigo!"

She followed his pointed finger and spotted the young man sitting in a deck chair. The smile faded from her face. She looked frightened.

Just to make sure that he made a good impression on them, Ichigo stood up from his chair and bowed. "Pleasure to meet you. Sorry for dropping in like this. You must not be prepared."

She gulped and clung to the pitcher with both hands. "Uh, hi…"

Ok, maybe she was just shy. Who could blame her for that? He did stop by unannounced after all.

Hitsugaya, unaware of the tension or perhaps ignoring it, smiled and offered to take the tea from her hands. Offering little resistance, Lavender handed it over to the young captain and he took it over to the deck table. He started to pour them each a glass, but there were only two cups. Noticing this, Hitsugaya took the opportunity to go back inside and fetch another for Ichigo.

Once he had disappeared back into the house, Ichigo and Lavender stared into each other's eyes without a word.

The orange-haired boy spoke first. "So who else is here besides you?"

She looked away. "Just him and my sisters, and myself. My older sister Sapphire is upstairs reading and Ruby is…" She broke off there.

"So, she's still lost, huh?"

Her head snapped up and looked at him. Slowly her face softened and she nodded.

"I see."

For a while, neither of them spoke. But then, Lavender took a half step closer to him and observed him up and down. It was as if she were looking for something. "You're not a Soul Reaper, are you?"

He didn't answer.

"No, I'm sorry. Such a thing to ask… Of course you couldn't be. No Soul Reaper can enter here." She let out a relived sigh.

"Then why can Toshiro come here?"

"My older sister set it up that way. Only he is allowed in."

"Oh." He really, really wanted to just grab her and order her to let Hitsugaya go and explain herself to the entire Soul Society, but he knew that wasn't a possibility. He had to stick to the plan. Besides, he felt like he understood where they were coming from. They were scared and hiding. They wanted to be safe. He could understand that. "Hey, listen…"

"Hm?"

"I want to ask you something."

Her response was almost as if he had asked her to recite the alphabet backwards. "O- ok…"

"I know why you're both scared of Soul Reapers, and I know what they did to you guys, but-"

"No, only I fear Soul Reapers. Sapphire is the one who hates them."

"Even so, why don't you guys just explain to the Soul Society what had happened to you three and see if you can work something out? Right now they think that you guys are the enemies. Why not go down there and explain your situation to them?"

She backed up, shaking her head. It was almost as if he had asked her to stick her hand in a scorpion cage. "I- I cannot do that! And besides, my sister would never even consider it. She hates them. Why, if she was even within ten feet of a Soul Reaper with a weapon of any kind, she would charge right in and attack them with all her might. No, she would never do something like that. She would never talk to them. Her hatred runs deep."

Ichigo chuckled. "She sounds a lot like a friend of mine. He hates Soul Reapers, too. He's a Quincy."

A small smile spread across her face. "Oh, yeah! I think I've heard of them."

Ichigo returned her smile. "You know, you're kinda cute when you smile."

Her face turned pink and her smile faded.

Despite her shyness, he went on. "You see, the Quincies are pretty much wiped out now. My friend claims to be the only one left. He's bitter and angry most of the time whenever Soul Reapers are mentioned. He has few nice things to say about them."

As he spoke, Ichigo could see her hazel eyes light up with hope and understanding. Clearly she knew that they would get along well, them and the Quincy.

"But he's not afraid of them. In fact, he'll fight alongside them for a common cause. If they are both facing a similar enemy then he sees no reason not to in order to win. It's true that he hates Soul Reapers but I think that deep down he knows that they're not all bad and that he should only be mad at the ones who hurt him and his people, not the innocent. Do you see what I'm saying?"

Lavender took a couple steps back from him with her hands cupped to her chest as if trying to put up an invisible shield between them. "Ichigo… I…"

He really wanted to smack her and order her to do the right thing and let Hitsugaya go and explain everything to the Soul Society. That was his impulse, but he knew that he couldn't. That would only make things worse. Aside from that, he, having two younger sisters of his own, Ichigo felt like he understood them and how they felt. He would gladly give up anything in order to protect them.

Feeling that he had gathered enough information, Ichigo wrapped things up. "Hey, listen. I'm sorry for asking you so many questions like this. I just wanted to make sure that you all were ok, that's all. I better get going."

He stepped off the stone patio and into the grass. As he walked towards the exit, he heard her call out to him.

"Wait! Please, wait!" Lavender rushed to the edge of the patio and stood there, watching his back. He stopped walking and turned his head slightly to look over his shoulder at her. "Please tell me why you're here. I have to know."

Mustering up as kind as smile as he could, Ichigo grinned at her in what could only be described as a charming way. "I just wanted to make sure that you all are safe. Maybe it's because I have two little sisters of my own to look after. So I can understand where your big sister is coming from. She's very protective of you guys and I can tell that you guys love each other very much."

She relaxed at his words.

"And Toshiro is a friend of mine, as well. I want to make sure that he's taken care of. And you guys never did anything wrong as far as I can tell. You can't fight for yourselves. All you can do is run, right? You need his protection. I understand that. I'm not trying to take him away from you. In fact, I want to help."

Her jaw dropped. She couldn't believe it.

"No, really. I mean it. I want to help you guys. As a matter of fact, I'll keep a look out for you guys on the other side. Toshiro can protect you here and I'll protect you outside of this place. I promise, I'll keep any danger away from here. That ok with you?"

The expression on her face was beyond words. It was as if he had promised her the world and so much more. It was almost as if in her mind, she would never feel pain or fear ever again thanks to him.

"R… Really..?" It was almost too good to be true.

He gave her a thumbs-up. "I promise." His face softened. "You know… You're pretty, kind-hearted, and have a very pretty voice. But I'm sure you have a brain under all those good looks. If you're half as smart as I think you are, then you know you can trust me."

Her face turned pink with blush and she watched him leave back beyond the barrier. He clearly needed some more practice with complements, but he still found a way to flatter her. She gathered up the two glasses on the table and took them inside.

Rounding the corner, she nearly bumped into Hitsugaya coming out with the third glass. They both stopped just short of each other with loud gasps. Hitsugaya clung to the glass with both hands and Lavender backed up.

"Oh, sorry, Lavender! I didn't know you were there."

"It's ok, Toshiro. No harm done."

He looked down at the glasses in her hands. "What are you doing with those?"

"Oh, Ichigo left."

"Oh..!" he sighed disappointedly. "That's too bad. And after I went through all this trouble to get this cup for him, too."

Lavender looked into the large kitchen and spotted a chair pulled up to the counter which Hitsugaya used as a step latter to reach the glasses on the top shelf. He was so short he had to literally climb to reach them. "I'm sorry you had to go through all that trouble, Toshiro."

"It's no trouble at all. I'd gladly do it for you guys."

She smiled and patted his head. "By the way, Ichigo told me that he was going to keep watch outside of the barrier to protect us."

"See? I told you he was good."

"Ahem."

They both turned and saw the eldest sister standing in the threshold. Sapphire leaned against the wall with a serious look on her face.

"Sister…"

She didn't answer Lavender's call but instead moved further into the room. "Hitsugaya."

He stood at attention. "Yes?"

"We're moving out in two hours. See that you're ready."

Lavender nearly dropped the glasses in her hands. "W- what? So soon?"

"Yes." Sapphire's firm tone left no room for argument. "We're finding our baby sister tonight no matter what. I won't leave her to the Soul Reapers. They'll kill her. I know they will, just like they kill everything else."

Lavender's heart was racing for a number of reasons. From stress, fear, nerves, excitement, and from knowing just how strongly her big sister felt about this. She felt the same way, in truth. Sapphire had the will and the strong spirit to do the things she did, but Lavender was so much more kindhearted. She never liked seeing people get hurt or killed. She had seen far too much of that in her life. Those massacres left her with a feeling of dread and caused her to fear Soul Reapers. In Sapphire's case, it caused her to feel nothing but hatred toward them and renewed her desire to protect her only family. They were sisters and no bond was stronger than theirs. It was an unspoken understanding between all three of them.

Sapphire looked to Hitsugaya. "Got that? Be ready by then. All three of us are going to find her."

Hitsugaya's warm, if not childish expression shifted into a serious battle face. His eyes became that of a warrior and he nodded his head keeping his firm, strong eyes on her deep blue ones. "Yes, I understand. I will fight hard and protect you all no matter what."

She nodded back. "See that you do."

Lavender as usual said nothing and went along with what her big sister had already decided. She wanted to find Ruby just as much as she did.

And nothing was going to stop them now.

* * *

Please review! ^-^


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7:**

After Ichigo had returned, they all sat down while he informed them of what he had found out. They went over the plan and made a decision to tell the Head Captain what was happening. After all, if they were plotting to attack Hitsugaya or imprison him, they had a right to know that it wasn't his fault. Rukia brought Ichigo back to the Soul Society with her and talked to several people, managed to pull a few strings and set him up a meeting with Yamamoto.

Several hours passed, but at last Ichigo was allowed to speak with the Head Captain. Rukia waited outside the large double doors for him to finish. She could only hope that things would go their way for once.

After an hour, Ichigo was sent out and the doors were closed once more.

Rukia stood and watched him moved towards her. "Well, how did it go?"

He stormed right by her in a huff. That wasn't a good sign.

"Ichigo, wait up! Talk to me! Tell me what happened!" She chased after his shadow and at the end of the long hall, he stopped.

He spun around and shouted, "He's a complete idiot!"

"Huh?"

"He wouldn't listen to me at all! He's still convinced that Toshiro's a traitor."

"What? But you told him everything you told us, right? What did you tell him? You must have left something out or not explained it well."

"Rukia, I know what I did! I explained it perfectly, alright? I didn't screw up!"

"Then what did he tell you?"

Ichigo started his rant. "When I told him that the only reason why that girl ran off in the first place was because those two idiot Soul Reapers scared her off. The old man told me that regardless, she should have stayed put and been taken into custody, fear or no fear. Then I told him that the reason why Toshiro attacked those guys was only to protect her. He told me that he shouldn't have done that at all. It was against orders. When I told him that Toshiro only did that because he was under a spell that forced him to obey them no matter what, he told me that couldn't be true. He said that any good Soul Reaper would be able to break free of that kind of spell. Besides, he had never heard of a spell like that. Either way, he's holding Toshiro responsible! Controlled or not, his actions were his own."

"What? That's ridiculous!"

"I know, but he wouldn't listen to anything I had to say after that. I tried to tell him that those girls are afraid of Soul Reapers because they've been attacked by them so much, but he said that it was a lie and that I shouldn't believe everything I hear. After that, he kicked me out."

Rukia folded her arms with a low growl of frustration. "This is horrible! He's going to be killed for sure and no one will listen to us! It's not his fault! It's all because of those three little… Ichigo?"

Noticing that he had his head hanging down and had stopped responding to anything she was saying, Rukia asked if he was ok.

"Rukia…"

"Yeah?"

"It's… It's not all their fault, either."

"What? How could you say that? They put the spell on him and made him do the things that have labeled him as a criminal."

"Yes, but…" Ichigo remembered her face. He remembered every detail of Lavender's face, her eyes especially. They were fearful and sad. They held so much pain. It was as if he were looking into a bit of her past and could see a vague reflection of what she had witnessed all those years ago. All the bloodshed and pain. "You weren't there. You didn't meet her. If you had, you would have known."

Rukia stood silently listening to him.

"I saw it in her eyes. Even while she was talking to me, I could still feel the pain she had. That kind of wound never closes completely. There will always be scars that will never heal. I know how she feels. I understand why they're the way they are. All they want to do is find their little sister so they can all live in peace again far away from anything that might hurt them."

"Ichigo, that's false hope. Everywhere you go there will always be pain and something that will hurt you. You can't run away from that. Even the world that they created is flawed. It's nothing more than a dream. You know that, don't you?"

"Rukia…"

He still wasn't looking at her. He was still overcome with emotion. She knew full well that he wasn't hopelessly sensitive, but he did have a good heart. Perhaps that was the problem. He cared too much about these girls. Or maybe he was the only one who _did_ care about them. Everyone else just treated them like the enemy. Even Rukia admitted that she felt bitter towards them for what they were doing to Hitsugaya. But they did have reason to. How could she have overlooked that? They were trying to protect themselves anyway they could and were getting help from the people they hated the only way they knew how. Maybe they weren't the enemy after all.

"Listen, Ichigo. I know how you feel about this, but there is nothing we can do. We can't change what the court has already decided. I'm not a captain. I can't do much more than what I have already done."

"I know."

"What's going on over here?"

They both looked up and saw Hisagi standing just a short distance from them.

"We were just talking to the Head Captain about Hitsugaya, but he won't listen. He's still going to have him treated as an enemy."

Hisagi closed the gap and stood between them. "What's this about? You mean to tell me that he didn't attack anyone?"

"Well. Not entirely."

"Eh?"

"You see, he's under someone else's control. He doesn't know what he's doing."

"And he's acting so weird!" Ichigo added.

"Weird how?"

"When I spoke to him, he was acting kind of childish."

"Now that couldn't be him." Hisagi folded his arms.

Rukia turned to Ichigo. "But remember, Kisuke told us that it could be a side-effect from the spell he's under. They could have made him that way."

"Or maybe living at the Soul Society was too stressful for him so he's always bitter and angry here, but when he's taken away from his duties and everything he's much calmer."

"That could be it," Hisagi thought aloud. "Being a captain is very stressful, after all. And let's not forget that his lieutenant is always running off and leaving him to do all the work by himself. He's doing work for two people and wants to be taken seriously as a captain despite his age. It's all very stressful so I have to agree with you guys that it might be the answer. Maybe being out of a stressful environment is making him a little bit more pleasant. Who knows?"

Rukia and Ichigo agreed.

"But wait, what's all this about being controlled?"

They told him what was happening.

"So you guys think that these girls are the cause of all this?"

"We know they are!"

"But why are they doing all this?"

"They want to find their baby sister who's lost in the Seireitei, like we said. But they're afraid of Soul Reapers because they wiped out several of their villages in the past. They were attacked by Soul Reapers."

"What? When?"

"We don't have a date! It's happened over the years."

Hisagi raised a brow. "That is impossible. Our job is to protect others and maintain the balance between the two worlds. If we ever attacked a village, it was under orders due to it being corrupted or something. We never attack the innocent."

"Well, according to them, it happened."

"But if a whole village was wiped out, it would be on record."

"Then we can find out and see if they're telling the truth."

Ichigo frowned at her. "I know they are telling the truth. You don't need a file to tell you that."

"Either way, you guys can't look at them. Those records are restricted. Only captains and lieutenants can view them."

"But you're a lieutenant, you can look it up."

"It's organized by dates. Since you guys don't know when for sure this happened, I wouldn't know where to begin to look."

"Could you try?"

Hisagi shot him a look. "Nonetheless, I doubt it would be helpful in convincing the Head Captain. Showing him dates and telling him things you have heard won't convince him. He has to see things for himself. If you can prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that he is in fact being controlled, then maybe, just maybe, he will listen. But there's no guarantee."

Ichigo sighed and put his hands on his hips. "Well… Then I guess we're on our own."

Rukia moved in front of him. "Ichigo, you aren't planning on doing anything reckless are you? Remember we have to handle this very carefully. You can't just go rushing in like an idiot like you usually do. We have to plan and-"

"I know what I'm doing! And who are you calling an idiot?"

She just stared back at him, not backing down.

With a defeated sigh, Ichigo said, "Look, I know what to do. I'm not going to rush in and do things 100% my way, alright? I'll play it safe. Would you quit worrying all the time?"

He was expecting her to answer him, but instead she did nothing. Rukia only stood there completely motionless. Hisagi was, too.

"What's up?"

Rukia muttered softly, "Something's wrong."

Hisagi looked towards the window. "I think something's going to happen real soon. I can feel it."

"Spirit Pressure?" Ichigo knew that he sucked at detecting that stuff but apparently that wasn't it this time. It was something else. A gut feeling that something was about to happen. Even he could sense that deep down inside. And he didn't like it.

They were here.

* * *

Twilight. A beautiful time between evening and sunset. Hanataro liked this time of day himself. There was something peaceful about it. He liked serenity. It sure beat getting bullied at all hours, that was for sure.

The timid Soul Reaper was tending to a small garden which held many different types of plants used for medicine. After all, some injuries were best healed trough medicine than magic. It was his duty to care for these herbs and make sure that they were all watered and properly sunned. He didn't mind this job. He always found it to be a good stress reliever.

He gathered up the proper plants and placed them into the wicker basket at his side. He mopped the sweat from his brow. "Phew! Almost finished! I'm sure Captain Unohana will be very happy with my work tonight. I tried my best." He pulled out the final weed and tossed it aside. Now he was officially done. He gathered the herbs and stood up, stretching. He felt so stiff after being bent over for so long.

Turning his head up, he could see the clear blue sky darken before his eyes. It was getting late. He had to hurry if he wanted to deliver these herbs on time to his captain. But as he made to leave the small garden, he heard a strange sound.

It was a song sung by an angelic voice.

Hanataro stopped in place, transfixed. "Huh? What is that?"

The song continued.

"Someone's… singing..? But who..?" He looked around, but could find no one. He was all alone.

The song intensified.

Paralyzed, all he could do was listen to the hypnotic song. Slowly but surely, his blue eyes glazed over and became unfocused as Lavender's spell took hold. Still holding onto the basket, Hanataro began to walk slowly in the direction of the singer.

Sapphire stood beside Lavender, waiting for someone to approach them. Her sister had only been singing for a minute or two. Someone should have come by now. Maybe she wasn't singing loud enough.

Just as she was about to tell her to increase the volume, Hanataro came around the corner towards them. The zombie Soul Reaper stood in front of them and waited for orders.

Lavender stopped singing.

"It's alright now, Hitsugaya," Sapphire told the white-haired Soul Reaper covering his ears. "She's stopped."

He took his hands off his ears with a sigh. He didn't want to be caught up in this spell.

Sapphire looked at Hanataro. "What is your name?"

"Hanataro… Yamada."

"What is your specialty?"

"I am a… member of Squad 4 and can… perform… medical treatment."

Lavender smiled widely up at her sister. "A medic! He can heal people's injuries! This is good news, isn't it?"

Sapphire nodded. "Indeed. We could use someone like him."

Lavender's smile faded a little. That wasn't quite what she had in mind.

"Have you seen our little sister Ruby around here? He's small, has red hair and brown eyes."

He shook his head.

"She doesn't want to be found, does she?"

Sapphire huffed. "This is useless!"

Hitsugaya circled around them keeping a lookout for other Soul Reapers. So far they were alone. But he could sense someone coming their way. "Someone's coming closer!" he warned.

"Then let's hurry this up." Sapphire raised her right hand and slammed her palm on Hanataro's forehead. He jolted back, eyes wide, before slumping down onto the ground. Before he had time to recover, Sapphire grabbed his jaw, demanding attention. "Look at me."

Hanataro opened his eyes and looked upon her face.

Lavender knew what this meant. The spell Sapphire had cast upon him was a spell of obedience. He was going to obey the orders of the first person he sees. There was no breaking it now. It was done. From this point on Hanataro would have no will of his own.

Sapphire knelt in front of him and gave him her instructions. "… And finally, you will do whatever I or my sisters tell you. That's one of them." She pointed to the girl at her side. "Her name is Lavender. You will do whatever she tells you, understand?"

He nodded. "Yes, mistress!"

Lavender looked away. She didn't want to hear him say that. He was nothing more than a mindless slave now. He would do nothing unless told to. Even his actions had to be predetermined by one f them. If he needed to rest, one of them had to allow it. When he would eat, when he would sleep and where, what to say, what to do… It all had to be given to him by one of them. He couldn't decide anything on his own anymore. It was the same as being dead and having your body hoisted up on strings like a puppet. It was a terrible fate. And worst of all, he had no idea what had happened to him.

Satisfied, Sapphire stood and looked to Hitsugaya and Lavender. "We have to look for ourselves. I can handle myself. Hitsugaya, you stay with Lavender and help her. Hanataro will search on his own as well. He will come when you call for him."

"Understood," Hitsugaya nodded.

Lavender didn't look at her sister, but she agreed anyway. It was for the best, right?

* * *

And so they searched the area. The Soul Society was much larger than any of them had expected. How were they going to find a little girl in all of this? But they had to try. For all they knew, Ruby might have been hurt somewhere or trapped.

Lavender walked beside Hitsugaya in silence. All these emotions kept stinging her like angry bees. She was worried about everyone, especially her little sister, she was scared of what they might run into here, and she was also feeling guilty about Hanataro.

But now she was even feeling guilty about Hitsugaya. In the short time they've spent together, she had gotten very close to him. She liked him a lot. She also thought he was rather cute. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye as they walked. The way he moved, the way his white hair brushed against his face as he moved his head looking in all directions. The way his aqua eyes seemed to sparkle and dance when he got excited. How light he was when he slept on her lap. His soft white hair was like touching a cloud and it smelled of freshly fallen snow. The purest it could ever be.

"Are you alright?"

"Huh?" She jolted back, realizing that she was just daydreaming about him. "It's nothing. I was just thinking."

"But your face is pink."

She put her hands to her face feeling her warm, blushing cheeks. Oh, no! She was blushing in his presence! She quickly turned away, embarrassed.

"Lavender?"

She could feel his strong hand on her shoulder. Such a strong, but soft touch. And his voice, soft like the wind but chilling as a winter's night. Yet it was so warm.

Her heart was pounding.

"I- I'm fine! Really!" She moved away from him. Yet another new feeling.

"If you're certain…"

She nodded, keeping her back to him. She couldn't let him look upon her blushing face. "I… I think we should split up here for a little bit, ok?"

"What? But it's my job to protect you and your sister told me to watch over you."

"But she also said that we should find Ruby and that is our priority, right?"

He didn't answer her.

"Pease do as I say. I'll call for you if I need help, ok?"

Silence, then…

"If that is what you wish."

When she turned, he was gone. She sighed, relieved. Her blush was gone.

* * *

Hitsugaya looked everywhere he could think of. On rooftops, on the streets, between cracks in buildings and anywhere else he could think of. No Ruby anywhere. He kicked the wall and put his hands on his hips. If he were a little hyper girl, where would he be?

He heard footsteps and turned. They were coming closer. Excited that it might be one of the girls, he hurried over. But was disappointed and angered once he realized that it wasn't either of them but instead it was a tall woman dressed in black. He skidded to a halt.

She looked at him with big pale blue eyes. "C- Captain?"

"You!" He jumped back and put hand on his sword.

Rangiku put up her hands defensively. "No, please! Don't do this, sir! Don't attack me!"

"Stop calling me that! I'm not 'sir' or 'captain'! I'm just Hitsugaya! And you're in my way!"

"Cap- I mean, Hitsugaya, please stop this! Why are you attacking me? I haven't done anything!"

"You're a Soul Reaper! That alone is your crime!"

"Huh?"

He unsheathed his sword. "I hate Soul Reapers!"

She was beginning to see the problem. "What are you talking about? You _are_ a Soul Reaper."

"Lies! I am not a Soul Reaper nor will I ever be! I will never serve you!"

"But-"

He charged her.

She didn't raise her sword against him. She couldn't. Not when he was like this. He had no idea what he was doing. She had known that from the start. How could he? He would never do these things. She backed up, refusing to fight.

But he wasn't backing down. Hitsugaya brought his sword down and she shut her eyes.

Though she had never raised her sword, there was the unmistakable clang of two blades meeting each other echoing through the air.

She opened her eyes and saw Hisagi standing between them, his sword pushing back against Hitsugaya's.

"What are you doing?" Hisagi scolded her. "He could have killed you! Fight back!"

"No!" she shouted back. "There's something wrong with him! I can't attack him like that! Please! He's not himself!"

Hitsugaya increased pressure and forced Hisagi's sword back. Hisagi did the same and the two were locked in conflicting wills of strength. Neither one would back down.

"Hisagi, stop!"

The two looked up and saw Ichigo running up to them. Hitsugaya pulled back, happy to see him. Hisagi pulled his sword away, too, but not because Ichigo had told him to. He did it because Hitsugaya was acting very strangely; now he could see that.

"Ichigo!" Hitsugaya smiled. "You're here, too!"

The orange-hair boy slowed to a stop and forced a smile. He had to keep acting even if it killed him. He was still in his body, so Hitsugaya still had no idea that he was one of them. He had to keep up the act. "Yeah, I am. How's it goin'?"

Hitsugaya put away is smile and glared at the Soul Reapers around them. "Soul Reapers! Ichigo, you gotta help me beat them before it's too late!"

Hisagi looked at Ichigo. "Too late for what?"

Ichigo moved close to Hitsugaya. "I will, but first we have to do them a kindness."

"What? Be kind to Soul Reapers?"

"By that I mean at the very least they should know the reason for you killing them. Don't you think?"

"Duh! Because they're evil! That's why they must die! I have to kill them before they can kill again!"

Hisagi and Rangiku exchanged looks.

"Don't act all innocent!" Hitsugaya snapped. "It's because of you that my girls can't live in peace!"

The two looked at Ichigo for answers this time.

"The Three Treasures," he explained. "A long time ago, a few Soul Reapers came by and slaughtered their village, leaving only them alive. It kept happening after that, until no village would have them out of fear of being killed next. Those girls are the ones Toshiro protects. He's worried that you guys, being Soul Reapers, are going to try to kill the girls again."

"So that's why he thinks that Soul Reapers are evil?"

"But he's a Soul Reaper, too-"

"I am not! I am NOT, you filthy liars!" Hitsugaya shouted at them.

Ichigo lowered his voice to keep Hitsugaya from picking up everything he had to say. "He doesn't remember being a Soul Reaper because his memories have been rewritten. As far as he knows, he was brainwashed by the Soul Society into thinking he was one of them, but is actually the protector of The Three Treasures."

"I get it now," Rangiku murmured. "He thinks we're the enemy because of the brainwashing and now thinks that he serves those girls. But if that's the case, then…" She looked at her captain who was still staring back at her with vengeful eyes. "But things wouldn't add up."

"What are you talking about?"

Without moving from where she stood, Rangiku knelt on the ground and looked at him from this defenseless position. "How long have you been with them?"

"All my life."

"All of it? But then… What of your childhood? Do you remember that? Your family? Any of it?"

Suddenly numb, Hitsugaya lowered his sword. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Do you remember your childhood? Where did you live? Who did you live with?"

"W- with them, of course." He tried to act strong, but his fingers were losing their grip on the sword.

"You're favorite food? Your favorite toy to play with as a child? Do you remember any of that?"

Hitsugaya shook.

"Your bedroom? What did it look like? Your parents? You didn't just come out of nowhere."

"I… I…"

"Your grandmother. I met her. She took care of you. She loved you. When you left for the Soul Society, you said goodbye to her. Or don't you remember that either? You loved each other very much and I thought it was so sweet. Don't you remember?"

Hitsugaya's face contorted as if he were being stabbed by white hot pokers in the face and chest.

"Your tears? Don't you remember a time when you were sad? Happiness? Remember the joy? And your friends? What about Momo? You lived together, didn't you? She told me the things you wouldn't. She cares about you! And you care about her, too! I know you do, otherwise you wouldn't swear to kill anyone who hurts her! Remember that? Don't you?"

He reeled about, clutching his head and moaning. He felt as if his brain were pushing up against his skull. He staggered about before finally falling to his knees. Something wanted to get out. Something within him was screaming for control. He dropped his sword and clutched his head with both hands.

Hisagi looked at Ichigo. "I see your point. There is something wrong with him after all."

"You think the Head Captain will listen to us now?"

"Wroth a shot."

Rangiku inched closer to him. "Captain?"

He writhed, trying to suppress this feeling.

"Cap-"

"EEK!"

Everything stopped when they heard Lavender's scream from just a few streets away.

Hitsugaya grabbed his sword and jumped to his feet. "Lavender!"

Everyone took off after him down the street.

* * *

Off to the side of the road, they found Lavender standing on a crate, her left foot stuck in the wooden box up to her knee. She was struggling to free herself and failing. Hitsugaya jumped on the crate beside her.

"Are you alright?"

"No!" she cried. "I was trying to climb on the boxes, but it broke and I fell in and can't get out! It hurts!"

"Don't pull. Hold still." He took out his sword and started to cut around the jagged hole around her leg. Very carefully, he pulled her leg free from the box and set her down on the ground. He sheathed his blade and looked at her injury. She had been cut up pretty bad. There were several scrapes around her calf and a large cut below her knee, dripping fresh red blood down her leg and onto the street.

"It hurts…" she hissed with pain.

Hitsugaya looked around for something to bandage her leg with. When Hisagi came close, Hitsugaya threw himself over her with a growl.

Hisagi backed up. "Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you or anything. I was just trying to help was all."

"We don't need your help, Soul Reaper!"

"Toshiro…" She patted his back. "It's ok."

"But he-"

"Ok, fine. Look." Hisagi pulled out his swords and tossed it aside. "There, see? Now I have no weapon. I won't hurt you. I promise."

Hitsugaya didn't waver. He stood firm.

Lavender in the meantime was looking behind her at something. "Hanataro."

Sure enough, the Soul Reaper was moving closer to them, basket still enclosed in his hand.

Lavender reached out for him. "Hanataro, help me."

With a nod, he moved closer and sat down at her side. "Yes?"

She pointed to her bloody leg. "Please heal this."

"Yes." In moments, his hands began to glow a light blue color and placed them over her leg.

Ichigo and the others watched the display take place. Ichigo took one look at the normally clumsy and skittish Hanataro and knew at once that he was not himself. Usually he would get woozy around blood, but this time, he didn't even bat an eye. In fact, he was acting like a robot.

"Hey."

Lavender looked up.

"He's under a spell, too, isn't he?"

She looked away from Ichigo. That was her answer.

After a while, Hisagi worked up the nerve to approach. He took two steps towards them and that was when Hitsugaya once again threw himself between them, protecting the girl.

"I just want to talk."

Hitsugaya didn't believe him.

"Please?"

He growled.

"Toshiro…" Lavender touched his arm. "It's ok. Just a little closer."

He nodded and backed down.

Hisagi looked at her. Though she had allowed him to come closer, he could tell that she was still frightened to death inside. Despite her brave front, she was trembling. To show that he was completely harmless, Hisagi got down on his knees and sank to the ground, keeping his hands where they could be seen. Hitsugaya didn't even growl this time. The gesture must have been working.

As Hanataro worked, Hisagi spoke and Lavender listened.

"If you're not our enemy, then why have you come here?"

Lavender didn't meet his eyes. After a moment's hesitation she answered, "We're looking for my baby sister."

"We?"

"She has a big sister named Sapphire," Ichigo answered.

"I'm asking her!" Hisagi barked over his shoulder.

Lavender bit her lip. "He's right, though."

"But if that's the case, then why didn't you just ask for help?"

She looked away. She gave no answer.

"Please tell me. Maybe then I can help."

Her answer was like a faint whisper. "Because I'm scared… I'm afraid of Soul Reapers. I…" Tears welled up in her eyes. "… I… I don't want to die!"

Ichigo expected her to start crying at that point, but she didn't. She was fighting it back, never allowing her tears to spill over. She tried to remain strong. But her body shook, wanting to let it out.

"I don't want to die like the others! I'm scared! I'm afraid you'll kill me!"

Hisagi kept his voice gentle. "Why would I ever do something like that?"

"Because it's happened before!" her voice shook with emotion. "Soul Reapers attacked our village and killed everyone! I saw it all! I watched! At the next village it happened again! And again! Then our village was attacked by Hollows and you never came to save us! When we asked for help rebuilding and healing the injured, you did nothing to help but attacked us and finished the job! How can I not be afraid of you? How can my sister not hate you? Soul Reapers are the enemy!"

"Then why do you have him?" Hisagi pointed to Hitsugaya and then to Hanataro.

She hesitated to answer. "Because them we can control. They're at our command. They'll do as we say and never do anything to hurt us. And we need protection. That is why."

Hisagi sat there and watched her body shake with emotion, holding in her sobs. No matter how hard he tried, he knew he could never know how it felt to them. He had never suffered like that. He wasn't a young girl with two other sisters. Even if he were to see it through their eyes, it wouldn't be the same. Where others would simply roll their eyes and say 'oh, well, get over it', they didn't know how it felt. They could never know unless it happened to them. Then see how easy it was to 'get over it'. Some things are just too hard to let go.

Now he could see that they weren't the bad guys. They were just frightened little girls looking for their baby sister lost in a place that they feared. He understood what had to be done.

Hisagi inched closer and mustered up as kind and sweet look as he could and looked straight at Lavender. "I understand. And believe me; I'm not going to hurt you. I can see now that this was all a huge misunderstanding. I promise you, that I'm going to make this right."

This was the first time that she looked him in the eyes. They held nothing but truth. His words were from his heart. She believed him. She trusted him. This Soul Reaper was not like the ones who attacked them before. He was kind and meant what he said. He had a good heart.

But seeing him move closer, Hitsugaya protectively thrust an arm out to keep him from coming any closer. And just like before, Lavender stopped him. She put her hand on his elbow and forced his arm down. When he looked at her, he met her sweet, trusting eyes. She gave him a smile, assuring him that this was what she wanted. And so he backed down.

She reached for Hisagi's hand. He took it in his.

"If this is the truth," she told him. "Then I will not look upon you as a threat, but as an alley. Please… Please help us find our sister. That is all I ask. Won't you please do us that kindness? Once she is with us, we can leave and never have to return to this place again. We just want to find her."

Ichigo allowed himself a smile as he watched them.

To seal the promise, Hisagi wrapped his pinky around Lavender's. A pinky promise.

"I promise that I will help you in any way that I can. As long as you promise that you are not a threat yourself. We will not harm you if you do not harm us. Is that ok?"

Her hazel eyes, still sparkly with tears, danced. She smiled hopefully and nodded her head. After doing so, she lowered her head, hiding her eyes behind her bangs. "I… Never thought that I… would ever ask a Soul Reaper for anything again. Not after all that we…" She trembled. "I don't know what to say. I don't know… what to do. There has never been..."

Hisagi held her hand as she sniffled. She was a lot stronger than he had thought. She was sensitive, but strong. To hold in all this pain, all this emotion. He couldn't fathom what it must be like to ask help from a person who you feared and hated so much. It must have been hard for her to trust him, but she did.

"I promise I won't hurt you. I swear I'll help you."

She sniffled, still holding back the tears. "… I've never had the opportunity to thank a Soul Reaper before… But…" Her mouth struggled to form the words. "Thank-"

Before the words could come, before anyone could move, someone else had come to join them.

Everyone looked up and saw the eldest sister, Sapphire, standing just a few feet away from where they were on the ground. Had she been there just a few seconds earlier, she would have known that they had just agreed to help each other out. But instead all she saw was Lavender sitting on the ground with a bloody leg and a Soul Reaper's blade not too far away. In fact, the Soul Reaper had a hold of her sister's hand and she looked as if she were about to cry.

Her deep blue eyes widened in shock. Her breathing became shallow and quick.

"Sis… Sister…"

Hisagi looked from Lavender to Sapphire, unsure of what to think. But seeing Sapphire's hands curl into fists, he knew what it must have looked like.

She hadn't taken her eyes off the blood for an instant. She grit her teeth, unable to swallow her rage. "Damn you…"

Hisagi shook his head. "N- no. This isn't what it-"

"Get away from her! Get away from my baby sister, you bastard!" Sapphire screamed and tore down the street towards them. She slapped his hand away and cradled her sister in her arms. "How dare you touch her!"

"But sister, this isn't-"

She wouldn't hear it. Her mind was made up.

"I was only trying to help-"

Sapphire didn't let him finish. "Help her die, is that it? You wanted to finish the job, huh? What, killing our friends wasn't enough for you?"

"Big sis-"

Sapphire stood up, fists clenched. "Hitsugaya, this is an order! Take Lavender and get out of here! Hanataro, you follow them."

"But, sister, what about Ruby?"

"She isn't here. I just got word that she was taken to the World of the Living with two other Soul Reapers."

Hitsugaya hadn't moved yet.

"Are you deaf, Hitsugaya? I said get her out of here!"

"But sis-"

"NOW!"

Hitsugaya picked her up bridal style and carried her off. Lavender reached over Hitsugaya's should as if to pull herself back to where her sister stood, ready to square off against the Soul Reaper. "Sister! Sister!"

It wasn't long until they were out of sight.

Sapphire stood before Hisagi, eyes full of hatred and vengeance. Though aware of the treat, Hisagi didn't reach for his sword still lying on the ground. That would only prove that he was a threat. All he could do was stand and try to talk her down.

"I didn't do anything. I wasn't the one who hurt her. She slipped and-"

"Stop lying to me! I'm not so easily fooled!" She raised her right hand.

Rangiku moved closer. "Please, wait! He's telling the truth!"

"Like I'm going to believe a Soul Reaper!"

"But he-"

"I said shut up!" Sapphire charged, hand outstretched.

Unable to do anything else, Hisagi shielded the others from harm and took her palm to the forehead. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and fell motionless to the ground.

"Hisagi!"

As Sapphire moved to finish the job, another Soul Reaper came down from above. Rukia stood over Hisagi's body, her own sword raised and ready. Knowing when she was beat, Sapphire counted her loses and fled.

Ichigo knelt over Hisagi and shook him. "Hey, Hisagi! Can you hear me? Say something!"

Slowly, he opened his eyes and looked Ichigo in the face.

Ichigo let out a sigh. "Oh, thank God. She must've only knocked you out. Are you alright?"

Hisagi said nothing.

He grew concerned. "Hisagi?"

The Soul Reaper uttered one word and one word only.

"Master?"

* * *

Please review! ^-^


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: **

"What in God's name were you thinking?" Sapphire screeched at her sister. "I will not let some Soul Reaper con my sister out of her life!"

"But he wasn't the one who hurt me. I told you that I slipped and fell."

"But the point is that he could have and would have hurt you if you gave him the chance."

Lavender bit her lip and tried to slow her breathing. It was so stressful to try to explain something to someone who already had their mind made up. "But… I wasn't hurt and he laid down his sword to prove himself harmless."

"Don't you get it? It was all a trap! He was lying to you, just like before!"

"But I trusted him!"

Sapphire pushed her up against the wall with both hands, pinning her back to the marble wall. "And that is your fist mistake! You trusted him! I can never forget what they did! I can never forgive them! It's because of them that everyone we know is dead!"

Lavender shook, but not from the pressure Sapphire was forcing on her shoulders. It was the emotional pain she had locked deep inside her heart.

The oldest sister dug her nails into her sister's shoulders and shook. "I can't..!"

She blinked. Lavender could feel something wet hit her wrist. Then Sapphire lifted her head and showed her sister one of the few tears she had ever shown to anyone.

"I can't lose you, too."

For a moment, Lavender found it hard to breathe.

"I've lost too much as it is. A home, friends, freedom… I've seen far too much death as well… Don't make me witness the passing of my baby sister, too. I couldn't bare it."

"Big sister…"

Without another word, Sapphire pulled her into her arms and embraced her tightly.

"I'm not ready for that. I'm not! I can't! I won't let it happen!" Sapphire whispered into her ear. "Ruby is still out there. We have to find her before she's killed. That is our top priority. We must find her. There's no telling what could happen to her."

Lavender returned her hug and rested her chin on her sister's shoulder. "I understand. I want to find her, too. She is our sister after all."

They stood like that for another minute before parting. Sapphire discreetly wiped away her one remaining tear and stood back to look at her.

"How are they?"

"Oh." Lavender peered into the next room. "They're resting. They must be worn out."

"After that?"

"Come on, wouldn't you be? Besides, Toshiro was hanging out with me all afternoon. He needs his rest."

"I suppose…"

Hitsugaya was fast asleep on the couch, resting his white head on a pink pillow. He looked very content. Hanataro was passed out in an armchair, one leg up on one of the arms and the other on the floor. The way he was sprawled made him look as if he had just collapsed where he stood. Both girls found him to be quite cute.

Sapphire turned to go up the stairs. "Let them be. We'll continue our search in the morning."

"Right."

* * *

The last thing in the world they needed to hear now was Kisuke laughing hysterically at them when they returned to his shop. It took him a good five minutes to stop, but then he started up again. "Wah-hahahahahaha!"

"It's not funny!"

"AH- HAHAHAHAHA!"

"Hey! Shut the hell up, sandal-jerk!" Ichigo threatened him with his fist.

"Ha ha! Oh..! Oh, I'm sorry! It's just too funny! Imagine… Him of all people succumbing to this! It's a riot! I mean come on!"

"Do you think this is funny? What's funny about this?"

They directed his attention to Hisagi would was staring at Ichigo with a big dumb smile on his face. "Master!" he would coo every time he locked eyes with Ichigo, convinced that it were so.

"Well…" Kisuke said suggestively.

"I don't find this funny at all!" Ichigo snarled.

Kisuke fanned himself with his white fan. "It's obvious that he's fallen victim to the eldest sister's spell of obedience. He wouldn't be acting like this otherwise."

"But I thought that only made others obey the girls. Why is he acting that way to Ichigo?" Rukia asked.

Kisuke didn't hesitate to answer. "Because she must have used the 'hatchling' spell."

"The what?"

"Hatchling spell. You know how newborn chicks think that the first thing they see when they hatch is their mother? The same applies here for him. My guess is Hisagi here woke up and saw you first, Ichigo. Now you have your own personal slave. Cool, huh?"

Hisagi rubbed his face against Ichigo's arm like a cat. "Master..!"

Ichigo moaned. "Yay me…"

The smile never left Kisuke's face. "Aw, now isn't that cute?"

Ichigo pushed Hisagi away. "Stop that!"

To his surprise, he obeyed and sat quietly on the floor like a loyal dog. Oh, yeah. He was under the impression that Ichigo was now his master and therefore would obey his every command.

Rukia had come to the same conclusion and jumped up as a sudden thought popped into her mind. "Ichigo, don't you see? This is wonderful! He's your slave now! He'll do anything you tell him to!"

"Yeah, but I'm a little less than pleased about it as you can see. I wouldn't mind it as much if he weren't acting so weird."

"No, Ichigo. Don't you get it? He'll do anything you say, regardless of the command."

Slowly, the color drained from Ichigo's face. "Wh- what are you suggesting?"

"No, you perv!"

"Oh…" he sighed happily.

"What I meant was that now we have proof that Hitsugaya isn't aware of what he's doing. If Hisagi will do whatever you say, no matter how humiliating or unhonorable, then we can prove to the Head Captain that Hitsugaya is really and truly being controlled and can do nothing to stop it."

It was a brilliant idea. From now on, Hisagi would only do what Ichigo told him to. He could make him do embarrassing things, things he would never normally do even on a dare and that would prove just how powerful the spell was. If Hisagi couldn't resist it, then there was no way Hitsugaya could. Now they had their proof to show the Head Captain.

* * *

Meanwhile down the street, another member of their team was walking home from his classes. Uryu pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and continued reading his book. He had to get home and finish his homework before it got too late. He had a lot of work to do, but it shouldn't be too hard for him. He had nothing to worry about; that is, until he saw a couple Soul Reapers leaping through the air a little too close to his home.

"Oh, for crying out loud..!" he groaned. Uryu closed his book and followed after them. "They had better not be going into my house!"

They weren't. The two Soul Reapers were, you guessed it, Ukitake and Ikkaku. They were still playing with their little bungle of unbridled joy, tossing her back and forth. Ruby was too cute for words as she squealed and giggled as she flew through the air. This was so much fun!

"Hey!"

They jolted in surprise and stopped house-hopping. Uryu was standing below them on the sidewalk. Ruby bounced with joy and asked them to take her down closer. They did as they were told and landed beside Uryu on the ground.

"Just what are you guys doing here? There are no Hollows around so you have no business being this close to my house." Uryu was not pleased.

But all that changed once Ruby popped out from behind their backs and into his face. "Hi! I'm Ruby! What's your name?"

Caught off guard by the sudden appearance of a little girl, Uryu was at a loss for words. He jumped backwards and looked down at the little girl. "Uh… I'm Uryu." After that, things got a little fuzzy. Looking into that cute round face of hers, Uryu felt a sudden warmth creep up on him. She was so… cute.

"Hi, Uryu!" Her smile was so bright and sincerer.

His cheeks started to turn pink. "Uh… How did you get here?"

She jumped from Ukitake to Ikkaku. "They brought me here! I was so bored! Wanna play with me? I know lots of games!"

"I, uh…" Uryu didn't feel like himself. Now his world was covered in rainbows and flowers. Everything was all cutesy. It was like being thrown into a girl's pink fluffy world.

Ruby reached up and took his hand. "Please play with us?" She stuck out her lower lip for effect.

That was all he could take. "Aw! You're so _cute_! Of course I'll play with you!" Uryu reached down and cuddled her. He had lost to her cuteness.

* * *

It was a very busy day for them all. Busy and stressful. On the second floor of their private mansion, Sapphire sat in the library, reading. The walls were lined with tall bookcases stretching from floor to ceiling, packed with books of all sizes. Volumes upon volumes of literature that would take you a lifetime to read were all here waiting to be read. Sapphire was the one who made use of their existence the most. She would spend hours reading in a leather armchair by the fireplace, rain or shine. She loved reading. Just about anything would do: fiction, non-fiction, history, the list went on for miles.

She turned the page in her book and ran a hand through her long hair. She knew she should be asleep at this hour, but she couldn't find rest. The only thing she could do to take her mind off of her missing sister was to bury herself in a book. It was the only thing she could do.

A creaking noise caught her attention and she looked up at the closed door. Her sister's footsteps crept down the hall toward the room on the far end. Sapphire knew what she was doing and didn't care. She could do whatever she pleased. It didn't matter.

Lavender pushed open the door to one of the rooms on the far end of the hall and crept inside. It was Hitsugaya's new bedroom. Her nostrils were filled with the smell of flowery perfumes and snow. This room had been their's, after all, but it was his now. Even an enslaved warrior needed his sleep. The room was dark and still. There was a small sofa by the wall in front of a handing mirror which was covered in spare pillows and blankets. Under the large window on the other side of the room was a large king sized bed. The occupant sleeping in it was her protector, Toshiro Hitsugaya. He seemed to be sleeping soundly among all those pillows and wrapped up in a soft flower patterned comforter.

But to Lavender, he looked cold. The quilt had slipped down his body, exposing his chest and stomach. She tiptoed over and pulled the comforter up higher over his body. In doing so, Hitsugaya felt her movement and woke up. His aqua eyes opened and she jumped back in surprise.

"Sorry. Did I wake you?"

Hitsugaya gave her a sleepy smile. "I was dreaming."

Seeing his sweet gentle smile made her relax. "Was it a good dream?"

He nodded.

"What was it about?"

Hitsugaya sat up in bed with a yawn. "I can't really remember now. But I know it was a good one."

"I'm sorry. I woke you up before you could finish."

Hitsugaya turned to her, still smiling. "I don't mind. What are you doing here anyway? Did you need something?"

She shook her head. "No, I… I was just… It's nothing."

The smile on his face faded. He didn't believe her. "What's wrong?"

She avoided his gentle eyes. She was ashamed of what she was about to ask. "The truth is… I was wondering if… If I may sleep with you tonight?"

He didn't react the way she had thought he would. "You want to share my bed?"

She clenched her fists and nodded. "Please? I don't want to sleep alone tonight."

"Of course." He scooted over allowing room for her to climb in next to him.

She pulled herself up into the large bed and lay down next to him. He drew the covers over her body, tucking her in. Then he settled down at her side.

"Are you comfortable?"

She nodded.

But he didn't stop looking at her.

She met his eyes for a moment before looking away.

"What's wrong?"

She hesitated to answer him. She herself wasn't sure how to put it into words. "Toshiro… Do you ever…" She swallowed. "Do you ever wish that you could… have more?"

"What do you mean?"

She knew she couldn't put her feelings into words. "Do you ever feel so lonely that you wished that you could keep everyone together with you forever? That you never wanted them to leave you ever again? That they would always be there and never missed?"

He smiled at her. "I don't have to. You're right here." He stroked her face with his hand making her sliver. But it was not because he was cold.

"Toshiro…" Again, she looked away. "You want to stay here forever with me- us?"

"Yes, of course. I have no reason to want anything else. You three are all I have to love. And I will never leave you."

Knowing that she had captured his heart made her own heart race. He never wanted to leave. And he didn't have to. They could be together forever. She would never have to be lonely again. She would never have to say good-bye again. He had no reason to leave.

No, he did. He had a second life. His real life. The one that was taken from him. What about his old friends and family? They would miss him much more than she could ever miss him. They had a bond, but she had forced a bond on him, making him feel these things for them. They were fake. These words he spoke… they were from his heart but they were all fake. It was no different from telling yourself in a mirror that you look beautiful.

As if hearing this for himself, Hitsugaya gave her hands a squeeze. "I will never leave you. As long as I am around, you will not feel pain. I will always protect you, no matter what."

Even that was a lie.

* * *

Ichigo continued on his way home by himself. He had asked Kisuke to watch over Hisagi until they worked things out. The plan was to return to the Soul Society and show the Head Captain that Hisagi was under the same spell as Hitsugaya and therefore could not be held responsible for his actions. That was the plan anyway, but there was no telling if it was going to work out that way.

"Out of my way!"

Ichigo was shoved to one side by someone running up from behind him. He reached out with one arm and grabbed the back of his shirt. "Hey, you watch where you're going!" He turned the man around only to find himself staring at Uryu. "Uryu?"

He fought against Ichigo's grip. "Let me go! I have to deliver this!"

"Deliver what?" Ichigo looked down and saw a frilly pink dress closed in Uryu's hand. It was his handy work alright. But then, why was Uryu holding onto that thing in the first place? Deliver it to who? "What are you doing with that dress?"

"I made it for her. It's custom made for her. I made it extra cute, just like she wanted."

"Who, Uryu? Who?"

"Ruby, of course!"

Ichigo's eyes widened. Ruby? Did he just say 'Ruby'? Then she was here! He knew where she was! "Listen to me, Uryu. I need you to take me to her right now!"

Uryu wasn't listening to him. He kept pulling against his arm, trying to break free. "Let me go! She's waiting for me. Let me go!"

Ichigo couldn't stop him. He was like a madman. Uryu must have been under her spell. There was only one thing he could think of to do. He held Uryu tight in one arm and backhanded him across the face. "Snap out of it!"

Uryu's eyes changed. One moment, they were bright and cheerful, but now they were darker and held wisdom. They were his eyes again. Uryu staggered and gave his head a shake. "What in the world happened to me?"

"You were under Ruby's spell."

"Ruby..?" His eyes lit up at the name. "Oh! I remember! There was this little girl with a couple of Soul Reapers not too long ago… I just…" He rubbed his head. "I can't really remember. It was as if I blacked out or something. I just took one look at her and I…"

Ichigo grabbed his shoulders. "Tell me where she is! I have to find her!" Once he could return her to her family then this whole ordeal would be over.

After a moment's thought, Uryu remembered where she was the last time he saw her and lead the way for Ichigo. It didn't take them long to find them. Ukitake was sitting on a rooftop bouncing a little girl with red hair on his knee. Ikkaku hurried up to them and made funny faces to her, making her laugh.

Ichigo stood on the side walk, watching them. "So that's Ruby." She didn't look very powerful at all. She looked like a normal toddler.

Uryu followed his gaze to the little girl on Ukitake's lap. "Ruby, huh? Tell me, why are you looking for her?"

Ichigo told him everything. He explained about the two other sisters and their barrier, and about the spell they cast over Hitsugaya and Hanataro.

"I see… So the only way to end this is to return their little sister to them, is that right?"

"Yeah, that's why I needed you to tell me where she was."

Uryu gave Ichigo a sideward glance. "I've never heard of The Three Treasures before. But it seems that we have a mutual feeling towards Soul Reapers. But Ruby doesn't seem to mind them very much. Maybe it's because of her age."

"Either way, I have to bring her back to them." Ichigo pushed Uryu aside. "Thanks for telling me where she was. Now out of my way."

"Ichigo, wait." Uryu grabbed his arm and held him back.

"What's your problem? Let me go!"

"Just listen to me for a second, alright?" Uryu looked into his eyes, serious. "Even if we did return her to her family, there is no guarantee that it'll end this whole thing."

He had no idea what Uryu was talking about. "What do you mean?"

"Think about it. By returning Ruby to her sisters, that'll end their search, but will it end their control over Hitsugaya and Hanataro?"

Ichigo was speechless.

"What reason would they have to give either of them back? Now they have protection, a healer and playmates for her. They're all set. Why would they break the spell they're under?"

All the air in Ichigo's lungs was squeezed out. He was right. Even with their sister back, why would they give up the others? Now they had everything they needed.

"Besides, once they have her back, they're bound to seal themselves away again. They'll have no reason to keep the entrance to their world open. And once that happens, we'll no longer have a way back to them. They'll be gone for good, Ichigo. Have you thought about that?"

He didn't. It was all true. Why would they stay? Why would they give them up? It was a no win situation no matter how many ways he looked at it. The attention, the protection, hatred… It was easier said than done when it came to letting that all go.

The little girl on Ukitake's lap got distracted and looked down at the sidewalk where the two of them stood. "Uryu!" She gave him an enthusiastic wave.

He glanced up, glasses catching the light as he did.

"Uryu! Up here!" She giggled and hopped up and down on Ukitake's lap.

Is blue eyes sparkled lovingly up at her. "Oh, she's so cute!"

"Snap out of it, idiot!" Ichigo slapped him in the back of his head.

"Ow! I can't help it! It must be her spell."

Ruby danced down to them and landed on the ground by their feet. "What took you so long? Is that my new dress?"

Uryu handed it over, not wanting to look at her straight and fall under her spell again.

She snatched it away and jumped up and down excitedly. "Wow! It's so pretty! It was all done so fast, too! You're so cool!"

Ukitake smiled at her lovingly. It wasn't odd to see him acting that way at all. But it was very odd to see Ikkaku with the same expression on his face, too. It kind of made Ichigo sick.

As Ruby struggled to put the dress on, Ikkaku bent down to help her. "Here, let me help you."

Ruby stood back and raised her arms over her head. Ikkaku tried to slip the dress on over her head, but it got stuck on her skull and wouldn't go any further. He frowned and tried again. Ruby danced in place, grunting and giggling.

"You're supposed to unbutton it first," Ukitake offered.

"Buttons? I thought you hated buttons?" Ichigo looked at Uryu.

"So did I." He gave him a puzzled look. "I guess her spell makes you do things you hate, too."

"Guess so."

Ikkaku pulled harder on the dress, trying to force it over the girl's head. He still hadn't unbuttoned it yet, wanting to do things the lazy way.

"Ow!" Ruby cried out. "I can't breathe!"

"Sorry." Ikkaku pulled the dress off her head, causing both to go tumbling back onto the sidewalk.

She rubbed her backside. "Ow. That hurt a little."

"Oh, sorry about-"

There was a loud crash and Ikkaku was sent flying into a building. Ukitake spun around to see what had happened when he was tossed aside, too, and frozen to a wall.

Ichigo and Uryu spun around and saw three people standing there in the middle of the street. Hitsugaya had his sword out and pointed at Ukitake. Behind him stood two females. Sapphire snarled at the group and glanced over at her baby sister on the ground. She looked back toward the two Soul Reapers, glaring at them viciously.

"I'd sooner die than let you touch her."

Ruby stood up from the ground and greeted her sisters as if nothing where happening around them.

The eldest took a step forward in front of Hitsugaya. "Go back with them," she whispered in his ear.

He nodded and sheathed his sword.

Sapphire called Ruby next. "Ruby come to me, now!"

She jumped, not knowing if she were in trouble or not.

Lavender stuck her head out from behind her older sister and called her, too. "We're here, now! Everything's going to be alright!"

The youngest was very happy to see the both of them but was still hesitant to leave.

Sapphire screamed at her. "Get away from those Soul Reapers! They're evil! They only want to hurt you!" Her fists began to shake. "They need to die! All of them! Just like they did to everyone else! The slime! Trying to lure our sister away and have her killed! I won't have it!"

Ichigo had to do something. "Wait a minute. We need to talk! She's safe! She wasn't in any danger. There's no need to-"

Sapphire roared at her sister. "I said now, Ruby!"

"Ruby!" Lavender threw her arms out to her baby sister.

The red haired girl hurried over to her big sister. In one giant leap, Ruby flew into her sister's awaiting arms and latched onto her kimono like glue. Lavender wrapped her arms protectively around her sister and leaned her forehead on the top of her tiny skull. At long last, they were reunited.

But their emotional moment was cut short as the eldest sister pushed them towards the exit. Sapphire gave the man in front of her a long hard cold look before shouting, "Get out of here!"

Lavender looked confused and frightened. It was as if she didn't know who her sister was talking to. Her or Ichigo?

"Lavender, I said move!" Sapphire snapped. She pointed toward their home in the park. "Get back home, now! I'll catch up!"

"But, sister, I-"

"NOW!"

Both sisters cringed at her loud forceful tone. She wasn't going to let them argue. It was for their own good. She was protecting them. With a soft fearful nod, Lavender gathered up her baby sister and took off. Hitsugaya followed after them.

Ichigo couldn't let this happen. Even without hearing the whole story, he knew what they were up to. He couldn't let them go. Too much was at risk. They truly believed that the Soul Society was their enemy. And with a Soul reaper captain on their side, there was no telling how much damage they could do. They were going to attack, no doubt about it. To make matters worse, the Head Captain Yamamoto wouldn't listen to reason. He was going to order everyone to attack them full force, and that included Hitsugaya. There was going to be a war. He had to stop them. But Sapphire was just as stubborn as Yamamoto. She wouldn't listen either.

Giving Ichigo one final glare, silently ordering him not to interfere, she turned to follow after her sisters.

"Wait!" Ichigo reached out a hand to stop them.

Sapphire stopped, but didn't turn around.

"Please, listen to me!" Ichigo stood in the middle of the street, shouting at her back. "I can help you guys. Just let me-"

"No." Her voice wasn't raised, but it carried far. "We don't need your help. Just leave us be."

Ichigo hated being told that he was of no use to anyone. He hated being told to stay away. He knew full well that they needed help. She was just being stubborn. "Why are you doing all this?"

Her head turned only slightly towards him, but he still couldn't see her face.

"Why are you doing this?" he repeated. "Back at the Soul Society… and now here… Why are you treating us this way? Why are you telling your sisters to not trust us? Why are you avoiding me? What have I ever done to you to make you hate me?"

"It's not you that I hate."

"Then answer me this: Why have you taken control of Toshiro and Hanataro? Why are you avoiding being with others by living in a false world of your own? Why are you so ready to fight? And why… Tell me why you act so cold?" Ever since he had seen her, Ichigo's first impression of her was cold. A kind of cold beauty that could only be reflected by her blue eyes. All she ever did was shove people away and take charge. She was so quick to judge and enrage.

Slowly, Sapphire turned to him and showed him her deep blue eyes. "Tell me, do you have a little sister?"

"As a matter of fact, I have two."

"Then you already know the answer to that."

He didn't even breathe.

"You know, you of all people should know why I do the things that I do. It's all for them. They're all I have left. That is my answer." Turning, Sapphire disappeared from sight, leaving Ichigo in the middle of the road all alone.

He finally regained his breath and exhaled sharply. She was right. Words weren't needed. They could never express what it was like to be the oldest. The heavy but rewarding burden it was to have to protect the others. He had two little sisters of his own. He knew what it was like. Sapphire was really no different from him. All she wanted was to protect them. But no matter what she did, they were always put in some kind of danger. It must have been so frustrating for her. For the first time since he had met her, Ichigo truly felt like he understood her.

* * *

Please review! Things are getting good, huh? ^-^


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: **

Rukia waited for Ichigo outside the Head Captain's doors for hours. They were sure taking a long time. She could only pray that Ichigo would get through to him. Earlier that day after the Three Treasures had been reunited and fled back to their world, Ichigo and Rukia had grabbed Hisagi and dragged him back to the Soul Society as they were. Once back, Rukia arranged for Ichigo to met with the captain and show him what had happened to Hisagi. Surely after seeing how enslaved he was, the Head Captain would call off his manhunt and try to reason with the three girls. If things didn't go well, there was no doubt in their minds that there would be a war.

Rukia paced the hall, waiting and waiting. Finally the large doors opened and out came Hisagi and Ichigo. Hisagi looked disappointedly up to his master and waited for him to speak. Ichigo's fists were shaking and his breathing was heavy and quick. He was definitely not happy. Things obviously didn't go well.

"What happened in there?" Rukia asked.

Ichigo threw a blind punch to the wall and gave a howl of frustration. Hisagi backed up away from him knowing that it was for the best.

"Ichigo, what-"

"He's an ass!" Ichigo spat. "He wouldn't believe me!"

"What?" Rukia couldn't believe her ears. "But how can that be? Did you show him Hisagi?"

"Yes!"

"Then did you make him do things he wouldn't-"

"Of course I did! Duh!" Ichigo folded his arms and turned away in a huff. "He just wouldn't have it! He didn't believe a word out of my mouth! The old man had an answer for everything!"

"Such as?"

Ichigo started his rant, pacing back and forth and throwing his arms up into the air and shouting his head off. "Ok, first of all, no matter how many things I had Hisagi do, the old man always said the same thing! He kept saying that he could have been doing it of his own accord! I had him do so many embarrassing things and still the old man wouldn't listen to reason! He kept saying that Hisagi was doing it on his own and that he wasn't convinced! For crying out loud! I had him do a dance and sing show tunes off key! When would he ever do something like that on his own? And when the old man said how he acted around me purring and stuff, he still claimed that he was doing it on his own accord! This is ridiculous! That ancient idiot just can't see the facts! He wouldn't know the truth if it crawled up his ass and shook hands with his liver!"

"Ichigo, calm down!"

"No, I will not calm down! Don't you get it, Rukia? Toshiro and Hanataro are both going to be killed! And unless we can convince the Head Captain, those three girls are going to end up dead!" Ichigo started pacing again, rubbing his head. "And another thing… If the Soul Society fights, then the girls are going to fight back. For the other Soul Reapers to make a move would only convince the girls that they were right all along. What would that prove? It will only cause bloodshed. I can't let that happen. It's no one's fault."

"But it's theirs, Ichigo," Rukia told him. "They're the ones who attacked us first. They're the ones who took control over Captain Hitsugaya leading us all to believe that he was a traitor. It's because of _them_."

"They were looking for their sister."

"They could have asked for help."

"From who? No one would let them get anywhere near their village and they're afraid and hated Soul Reapers. Who would they call?"

Rukia closed her mouth, knowing that he was right. But she opened it again to argue her next point. "They still took control of two Soul Reapers."

"They were afraid and it was the only way they could get help from the people they hate and fear the most. Besides, they didn't hurt them."

"Oh, so convincing the Soul Society that they're traitors isn't hurting them?"

"It was a setback and you know what I mean."

"Ichigo, why are you defending them?"

"Because-" He broke off, no longer confident in his answer. "Because… I don't know, but I'm helping them because it's the right thing to do."

"The right thing, huh?"

"Yeah! I don't want Toshiro to get hurt and I want those girls to be safe."

"So you'll play peacemaker for their sake?"

Ichigo turned his back on her and rubbed his head again, frustrated beyond belief. "Rukia… This is one situation I've been in where I can't tell who's the bad guy. Maybe there is none and you're both right. But to find out, we need more information."

Five hours later, Ichigo and Rukia went into the Soul Society records together to check on Hisagi. Ichigo had ordered him to research in the restricted section like he had intended to do in the beginning. He was looking up any information he could regarding the attacks the girls claimed happened to the villages they where living in. They found Hisagi sitting on the floor surrounded by towers of books and scrolls. He had an open book on his lap and was reading by candlelight.

He looked up when he heard them come in and waved at Ichigo, grinning from ear to ear. "Hello, Master! I've been researching as you said!"

"Good job. Have you found anything."

Though he was smiling, Hisagi's tone was sad. "No, not yet. But I'm sure I'll find something."

"What's taking so long?" Ichigo knew they were running out of time.

"Sorry, Master, but I'm having difficulty finding things out without any dates to go on. I'm searching blindly."

"You're right. Sorry." He looked at Rukia. "I don't see how this is going to help. Without dates…"

"I know, but what else can we do?"

Ichigo rubbed the back of his neck. "I should get home soon. I'm still in my body, remember? My dad and sisters are probably wondering where I am. I should have left Kon in my body, but you were in such a hurry…"

"Hey, don't blame me for-"

"Ok, ok, sorry. It's late and I'm tired. I'm gonna go find something to drink and come back, ok? Watch him."

"Sure thing."

Ichigo left the building and headed into the closest building he could find. He really had no idea where he was going. He had a poor sense of direction in places like this where there were nothing but buildings that looked exactly alike to him. If he could find a sink, he could stick his head under the faucet and drink that way and get back quickly. He climbed up the long staircase and down a long white hallway. As he walked, he noticed Byakuya walking out of a room on the right. Ichigo wlaked right up to him.

"Hey, what's up?"

He gave Ichigo his usual stare. "Fine. I was just visiting a fellow captain after his journey to the World of the Living and a Third Seat from Squad 11."

Ichigo knew who he was referring to. "Oh, you mean Ikkaku and Ukitake. How are they doing?"

"They have little memory of what happened to them. Ukitake is having a hard time recuperating from being frozen my Hitsugaya. Ikkaku is managing fine, but Captain Unohana wants to keep him for observation. They're both resting now, but they're not asleep yet."

"Oh, good. Glad they're ok."

"Yeah."

"Hey maybe I can have a talk with them while they're still up." Ichigo put his hand on the door, only to be forced aside by the captain of Squad 6.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that, Ichigo."

Taken by surprise, Ichigo took a step back and looked into Byakuya's face. "Wha… What did you just say? Why not?"

"Because if I were to let you pass, you would speak to them. I can't risk you jogging their memory. It would put them in danger and then they would be mad at me. I can't let them be angry with me. I have to see to their protection. They must be kept safe."

Ichigo's brown eyes widened with shock. Could it be? The way he was talking… Byakuya's actions… Was he under a spell, too?

"Byakuya… have you..?" Ichigo swallowed. "You met Sapphire, didn't you?"

He nodded. "Yes. Just the other night. And to think… so much became clear with that simple touch to my forehead with her beautiful hand." He ran his own hand over his face. "Ah… smooth as silk."

No! Byakuya was under the same spell as the others! He was now their slave! _Sapphire really knows how to pick them, huh? She had to go after the two most powerful captains, didn't she? _Ichigo tried to reason with Byakuya. He had no other choice. He knew what these slaves were like. If you didn't appear to take their side, they'd cut you down before you could finish taking your next breath.

"Byakuya, listen to me. I know how you feel. I want to protect them, too. But we don't have any proof that those massacres were Soul Reaper's faults. The Head Captain thinks that The Three Treasures are the enemy. We're trying to prove him wrong so he won't attack them."

"He won't listen. He's far too stubborn. Meanwhile, my girls sit and contemplate their demise by his hand. I can't allow that to happen! I'd sooner die than let such a fate befall my dear princesses!" Byakuya felt strongly about this, even if it was just the spell talking. He clenched his fists and scowled at some unseen enemy by his feet. He was envisioning something horrible in his mind. "Which is why they must be stopped," he went on. "Every last Soul Reaper must die! I will aid them in their final request. I will rid the world of the damn Soul Reapers!"

"You can't!" Ichigo gasped.

"I must! It's for their own good! They'll never have to fear anything ever again and can finally live in peace. I'll help them lead the attack tomorrow. Be sure of that."

"But that will start a war! Don't you see?" Ichigo couldn't ride the waves of fate and passiveness any longer. He had to speak up and make his voice heard. "Not only will they be in danger, but you'll all be outnumbered! There are only six of you and millions of them! You can't win! You'll be putting them in danger, don't you see? It makes no sense!"

"Sapphire's one remaining wish is to see the demise of the Soul Reapers. She must be there to witness it. Besides, with her powers, she can enslave many more Soul Reapers and make them come over to our side."

"You're still hopelessly outnumbered. And if you and Toshiro go in like that with the whole Soul Society thinking that you betrayed them, they'll slaughter you all. You'll die! Don't you see, you'll kill yourselves!"

"It'll be worth it! I'll die to save them!"

"And once you're gone, then what? What about them? Who will protect them when you guys are finished?"

Byakuya didn't say anything, but his eyes remained strong. He wasn't going to back down.

"Just give us more time, ok?" Ichigo was now reduced to pleading with him. Anything but unnecessary bloodshed. "Just wait until we find something that can verify their story. I believe them, really I do. But it's the old man we have to convince. We need more facts to support their claim. You can understand that, can't you? We need to find that information."

"Then why don't you?"

"Because we have nothing to go on!" Ichigo shouted at him, temper not cooling. "We can't find it in the records because we have no dates to narrow it down with!"

Byakuya closed his eyes and took a slow breath. A second later, he answered, "The first attack was 52 years ago, but there was no record of it. The first one to be written down was three years later. Then again two years after that. Then another two years. Another two." Byakuya opened his eyes. "That should be more than enough for you to go on."

Ichigo was speechless for a moment. "How… How did you know that?"

Byakuya smiled. "I know everything about my girls."

Their conversation stopped when they heard voices down the hall. Byakuya actually started to reach for his blade, but Ichigo stopped him.

"What do you think you're doing? If you attack them now, the whole plan will fall apart!"

Byakuya moved his hand away from the sheath. "Then what would you have me do?"

Ichigo pulled him down by his scarf and whispered into his ear. "Go back and be with the girls. See that they're safe. Leave the rest to me."

Byakuya nodded and started to move away.

"But before you do," Ichigo stopped him. "I have a request."

"Yes?"

He moved closer to whisper it to him. "Could you please tell Lavender…"

* * *

"Hand me an egg, would you, Toshiro?"

"Sure thing!" Hitsugaya handed Lavender an egg.

"Thanks!" She took it and cracked it on the side of a large glass bowl. He grabbed a wooden spoon and began to stir up the mixture. She knew how to cook very well, but she was also very messy. As she stirred, the white, watery powdered contents flew in all directions, staining her face and pink apron. She set the bowl down on the counter and wiped the batter off her cheek.

Little Ruby giggled, flour all over her face and kimono. "You're all messy!"

Lavender smiled and pointed to her sister's face. "So are you! You're all white with flour."

She pointed to Hitsugaya. "So's he! He has white _all_ over his head!"

Hitsugaya examined his hair. "It's always like that."

"No fair! You have to be messy, too!" Ruby picked up a handful of flour and threw it in his face. He coughed and gave his head a shake. Ruby laughed. "That's better! Now you look like a snowman!"

"No, he looks more like a ghost!" Lavender chuckled, playing along with her baby sister.

Hitsugaya took his finger, dipped it in some flour and drew on her cheek. "There. Now we match!"

She smiled and drew on his face, too. She wiped away some flour on his cheeks with her finger until she had formed a smiley face. He didn't mind at all and laughed. She laughed, too.

Then Ruby grabbed a handful of flour an threw it up in the air. "It's snowing!" she laughed. She threw up another handful.

Lavender threw some at her sister. Ruby then threw a handful into her face. Lavender squealed and started to belt more at her sister. Ruby threw more flour at her like a Gatling gun. Hitsugaya joined in, too, wanting to make it as much fun as possible. They threw flour everywhere.

Sapphire came in and put a stop to their fun. "What are you doing?"

They stopped. "Uh… making cookies?"

"Really? This is how you make cookies?" Hand on her hip, she gestured to the mess with her other hand. Flour was all over the walls and floor, not to mention themselves. Their nice clean counters where now covered in white flour and cookie batter. Ruby was standing on a chair while the other two stood on either side of the counter, being tall enough to see over the top on their own. "Clean it up!"

Ruby pouted. "You're so bossy, big sister!"

Sapphire called into the other room. "Help them pick up, Hanataro."

"Yes, as you wish." The normally clumsy Soul Reaper entered with a mop and got to work. Since he had been here in their other world, Hanataro hadn't had one accident or fumble. He hadn't gotten hurt, made any mistakes, didn't trip, fall or hurt himself and he didn't even pass out at the sight of blood anymore. It seemed that being under their spell had changed him for the better.

Or was it better? Lavender had her doubts. Now Hanataro was quiet and helpful; only coming when he was called. He was like a broom you put in the closet and took out only when there was use for it. If he wasn't needed, he remained in a corner and waited until called. He really was like a robot. He didn't do anything unless told to. He didn't even play with Ruby or talk to them unless he was instructed to do so. He was just kind of there. Lavender wished that he was a bit more lively. At least Hitsugaya moved on his own.

There was a knock on the door and their heads all looked up, surprised.

Sapphire went straight to the door. "It's about time he showed up."

A few moments later, in came Byakuya. The others in the kitchen exchanged looks.

"This is Byakuya," Sapphire explained. "He's on our side now. We met that night we were in the Soul Society. I asked him to keep a low profile until the coast was clear for him to leave and come to us."

"Sister, you didn't!" Lavender cried.

"I had to. We need more people on our side. And weren't you the one who was so fearful of having Hitsugaya die and leave you all alone? Now we have more people to fight for us. Now Ruby has more playmates so she won't have to run off anymore. The plan is perfect."

"What plan? Big sister, these Soul Reapers may be bad, but they have families of their own. You're taking them away from the people who love them!"

"Villains have no right to have such pleasures."

"Then what about the families? They're not Soul Reapers. Why should they suffer?"

Sapphire folded her arms defensively. "I don't have to explain myself to you!"

"But, big sister-"

Sapphire pulled her sister by the arm, flour and all, around the corner. They hid from view and Sapphire confessed. "Look, I didn't want to say this in front of Ruby, but we're going back to the Soul Society one last time."

"What? But why? We already have Ruby. What reason is there to go back?"

"For revenge." Sapphire's icy blue eyes danced like blue flame. "I won't have them hurt anyone else. We're going back there tomorrow to finish the job. We're going to use the ones we have to wipe them out the way they did our people."

"No! No, you can't!" Lavender pushed her sister away. "You promised no more bloodshed!"

"But it won't be us this time. Don't you see? It's for the better."

"Better for who? Soul Reapers are supposed to keep everyone safe from Hollows and guide souls to the afterlife. Without them, what will happen?"

"Hey, we still have three Soul Reapers on our side. Not all of them will be killed."

"But three isn't enough! Don't you think that we should-"

"No!" Sapphire roared. "Enough of this! I've had it with Soul Reapers! This is the end for them! After all that they've done to us, you're still going to defend them?"

"Not all of them are bad!"

"Only the ones under our control are safe to be around! Wasn't it the free ones who attacked you a few nights ago? Weren't they the ones who kidnapped Ruby? Weren't they the ones will killed our people and burned our villages? You can't defend that! They're evil and you will never convince me otherwise!"

With that final shout, Sapphire turned and went upstairs to her room and slammed the door shut.

Lavender slid down the wall and sat on the floor with her head in her raised knees. There was no point in trying. Sapphire would not listen. The Soul Society was finished.

* * *

Ichigo returned to the records room where Hisagi and Rukia were still researching. Of course, Rukia wasn't allowed to touch these records, but she kept pointing certain ones out for Hisagi to take a look at. Ichigo pushed his way through the piles of books and stood in front of Hisagi.

Rukia looked up a bit surprised by the newfound look of determination in Ichigo's eyes. "Ichigo?"

"Hisagi, I need you to look up these dates for me."

He happily nodded and waited for the numbers.

"Look up anything you can that happened 52 years ago."

Hisagi opened a book with the appropriate dates on it. He searched for maybe a minute before speaking. "There's no record of an attack, but there is something written in it about discovering a burned down village."

"That's it! What's it say about it?"

"Nothing other than it was found in ruin. The ones who found it ruled it as an abandoned village and left it as that. They didn't know how long it had been there or even the village's name. Nothing was left."

"Then search three years after that date. Anything?" There was no time to waste.

Hisagi searched. "Uh… Yeah. Another destroyed village. They never did find the cause. No survivors."

Ichigo gave him the next few dates.

"This villages was reported destroyed, too. No survivors."

The next date.

"Uh, this one reported a Hollow attack. They sent out Squad 5. The report stated that they fought hard against the Hollows with no casualties. But there was no one in the village. It seemed that they had all run away."

Ichigo stopped him there and turned to Rukia. "That can't be right."

"What do you mean?"

"According to Lavender and Toshiro, no one ever came. They sent out a call for help but no one ever showed up. The girls hid in the buildings until the very end and no one ever showed up to help them."

"But if it's on record that Soul Reapers showed up, then they showed up. Those girls must be lying or they don't have their facts straight. It's all on record, Ichigo."

He ignored her. "The next one, Hisagi."

He looked it up. "There was another attack on a village. There was some damage, but there were survivors. A day later, the village was gone."

"Wait a minute!" Ichigo stopped him again and looked to Rukia. "According to them, they sent out a call for help. It never came. Then when Soul Reapers finally did come, they finished them off."

"But if someone sent out a call for aid, then it would have been passed to Squad 4 to Captain Unohana." She looked to Hisagi. "Look up Unohana's reports for that day."

He obeyed. He pulled out another book and skimmed through it. Once finished he looked back at her. "There's no record of a report or any distress call."

"Wait a minute, wait a minute! I am so confused!" Ichigo couldn't wrap his head around this. "So let me get this straight. They sent out a distress call, but it never got here? And while they were waiting for help, another attack happened that wiped them all out? I don't get it at all! Who's telling the truth and whose story's who's?"

"Ichigo, I think they've been yanking our chain from the start. Don't you see? They are the enemy!"

"No, they're not! I know what you think, but you weren't there at the time. You didn't hear them or see the looks in their eyes. I believe them!"

"Ichigo, unless you have the facts, no one's going to-"

"Master?"

They turned. "What?"

"There is something… but…"

"Out with it."

"Well, during the Hollow attack, there was something strange reported when they returned."

"Yeah?"

Hisagi balanced the book on his arm as he read. "It seems that not only did Squad 5 have no casualties, but they also had no injures."

"What? If they were up against an army of Hollows like reported, then there must have been some sort of injury! A cut, something!" Rukia was starting to get suspicious.

"But there's something else that isn't on record, but a few Soul Reapers are aware of it." Hisagi thought back several long years into his memory. It was something so small, but he may have only been able to recall it because of the spell he was under. "Captain Aizen was asked to file a couple of reports but when we got to his office, he wasn't there. His lieutenant had no idea where he had gone. It was an illegal absence. But he showed up an hour later claiming that he was in his study the whole time. No one could verify it, though. I don't know if it helps, but…"

Now Ichigo had an idea. "Where was Gin that night?"

Rukia gave him a look.

Hisagi thought way back, trying to remember. "He… he was gone, too. The last time anyone saw him was around dinnertime. He said that he was going for a bite, but didn't return until the next morning."

The gears in Ichigo's head were starting to turn, faster and faster. _Aizen, Gin, villages gone, death, disappeared, girls, Hollows, help never coming, fear, pain, attacks, no injuries, illusions_.

His eyes widened and he turned to the girl next to him. "Rukia, didn't you say that Aizen could create illusions?"

"Y- yeah… He can make people experience these illusions and perceive them as real by affecting all five senses."

"And his squad was the one that took on those Hollows and managed to get away without a scratch. Right?"

Her eyes widened. "Ichigo, I think I see what you're saying."

* * *

It was early morning and the sun was just beginning to rise, painting the mansion gold. A thin purple line stretched across the horizon and thickened as the sun rose higher and higher in the sky. Such phenomenons almost made this world of their's appear so real, but it wasn't. It was their only home and it was all fake. Even the sunrise wasn't real.

Sitting alone in the library surrounded by thousands of books was Sapphire. She had been up for hours, unable to sleep. She was still very anxious for the things to come later tonight. She couldn't rest.

She heard the door open and looked up. "What is it?"

Byakuya crossed the room and went over to her. "Everyone is still asleep in their beds. Why aren't you? You need to rest up."

"I'm fine."

He got closer and watched her read. Byakuya had never looked so calm before. He had this fatherly warmth that seemed to fill the room, making everything brighter.

She felt something warm and soft being draped over her shoulder and looked up. Byakuya had covered her with a small thin blanket. "What are you doing?"

"You looked cold."

She pulled the blanket closer to her body, covering herself.

Byakuya sat in the chair opposite her by the bookcase. "There are so many books here. I would love to read them after the battle. Perhaps I could read a few less advanced ones to Ruby in the future."

"Perhaps." Sapphire wasn't very talkative. Though Byakuya was now her slave, he was still a Soul Reaper. He was an enemy deep down and she knew that. She couldn't get close to him. He was just a tool. Why should he be treated like a human being? He may have killed his fair share of villagers, too, for all she knew.

He sat with her silently. She didn't look up from her book, but he could tell that she wasn't reading. She was watching him without looking at him. "You know that I serve you now, right?"

She didn't answer.

"I am your slave and I will never do anything to harm you. But I can understand how you feel."

"Can you?" There was a little venom in her icy tone.

"They hurt you. I know that. But know that I still hold all my memories from that time. I remember everything I did before I became your servant."

She listened.

"I never went anywhere near the villages you lived at. I never took part in those killings. I'm innocent."

"Glad to hear it." Her tone was still very cold.

"I have a sister, too, you know."

"Do you?" She closed the book, having found something more interesting.

He nodded. "Her name is Rukia. She's younger than I am."

"Is she pretty?"

"Yes, she is. Strong, too. I married her sister. When she passed, I made a promise to her that I would adopt Rukia into my family. We're nobles and she was just a peasant. She lived in a landfill and had no family to return to. We took her in as I promised."

"How noble of you." There was no admiration in her voice.

"Living with us, she learned many things. She had all the clothes she could ever want. She had a roof over her head, and had plenty of good food to eat. She lived a good clean life, far away from that garbage dump she called home."

"Where is she now?"

"Back at the Soul Society, I believe. She became a Soul Reaper."

Sapphire's eyes darkened. "Why would she do something like that?"

"Maybe because everyone in our family does. My Grandfather was a captain. Or maybe she became a Soul Reaper to help others. Who knows? She has her own reasons."

Sapphire frowned. "If Soul Reapers are supposed to help people, why didn't they come to save us? Why were we attacked?"

"I couldn't say."

A door outside opened with a crash and little Ruby's voice could be heard ringing in the halls. "Yay! It's morning! Toshiro! Piggyback!"

Byakuya let a small smile cross his face as he looked to the door leading to the hall. "Sounds like they're up."

Hitsugaya ran past the open door carrying Ruby on his back. She squealed with laughter and pointed in the direction she wanted to go. Lavender wasn't far behind, chasing after them while trying to put her kimono on and telling them to wait.

As they disappeared from sight, Byakuya stood up. "I should make breakfast for them, don't you think? I'm a better cook than I let on. It won't take long." He started to leave.

"Byakuya…" It was Sapphire again.

He stopped and looked back at her. "Yes?"

She wasn't looking at him. Her face was filled with pain and sorrow, but determination as well. "Would you protect your sister no matter what? Even if it went against everything you believed in?"

He turned his body to her. "When I married her sister, it was against our family rules. We are not to marry outside of nobility. She was a commoner. I married her anyway and it brought my parents shame. But I loved her so much that it didn't matter. I broke the rules once for love. I broke them again when Rukia was in danger. She was going to be killed and I was told to let it happen. Instead, I risked my life to save hers. I felt no regret and I felt as if…" He turned his gaze to the bookshelf over Sapphire's chair. "When I did that, it felt as if my wife were standing right there beside me telling me that I did the right thing. I was filled with such pride, but also relief that she was safe."

"So you broke the rules for the people that you love?"

"Yes."

She didn't say anything else. Laughter from downstairs broke the silence and Byakuya left her alone to cook for the others.

Sapphire looked at the closed book in her hand, thinking. _But he's a Soul Reaper. How could he have been so selfless? I only thought that they were too evil to think of anyone but themselves. Or did he only save her because she was a fellow Soul Reaper like him? Then what of his wife? _She returned her book to the shelf. "I'll never understand Soul Reapers."

Downstairs, Byakuya pulled out a couple frying pans and got ready to cook. It took a while to get Ruby settled. Even this early in the morning, she was a little ball of energy. Lavender took a seat in front of Byakuya at the counter and watched the two run out into the garden. Outside, Ruby and Hitsugaya did cartwheels in the grass and chased each other. They really were like a family.

"I spoke to Ichigo on my way over here," Byakuya told her gently.

Lavender turned. "What? Well, what did he say?"

"He told me to tell you something."

"What is it?"

"He said…" Byakuya paused, trying to remember his words exactly. "You're a smart girl and you're a lot stronger than you think. I know you know what's right. You'll make the right choice in the end. I know you will."

She started blushing. "What does that mean?"

"I'm not sure. But I think he knows what your sister is planning to do."

Lavender looked down at the countertop. She looked upset, but Byakuya knew that there was nothing he could do to help her. This was something she had to do herself.

* * *

"So you think that Aizen and Gin both had something to do with this a long time ago?"

"What else could it be? We have nothing else to go on and it's the most plausible thing we can come up with."

"But Ichigo, if we couldn't convince Head Captain Yamamoto the first two times, what makes you think that he's going to now? He might not let you in his doors this time. He must be sick of you by now."

"Yeah, well, I'm pretty sick of him, too!" Ichigo quickened his pace down the hall.

"Slow down, would you?" Rukia hurried after him. "If you're not going to talk to the Head Captain, then who are you going to talk to?"

"Whoever will listen." Ichigo kept up his power walk down the hall, desperate. Byakuya, Hanataro, and Hitsugaya were all on their side now and were planning on attacking the Soul Society the next chance they had. He couldn't let Yamamoto kill them. Not the Soul Reapers and not The Three Treasures. He knew they weren't evil. He knew their motive was to find Ruby. But now that they had her, the eldest sister's goal was to rid the world of Soul Reapers. She truly believed that would solve everything. "I can't let it happen!"

"Ichigo, wait!" Rukia held out her hand and stopped him. "Answer me something right now!"

"What? We're running out of time!"

"This obsession you have with trying to save them… Tell me, are you only doing this because you and Sapphire are so much alike?"

"What?" Ichigo turned to face her in the middle of the long hall. "What are you talking about?"

Rukia stood firm. She gave him the same hard stare she always gave him when she was serious. When she was proving a point.

"Ichigo… She's the oldest of three. She has two younger sisters to look after. They've seen more death than they could ever want. Their whole world has come crashing down around them. They witnessed it all. Now that she knows the face of their killer, she's not going to back down until it's gone for good. She wants revenge and she's not going to be told to stop. She's stubborn and strong-willed. Can you honestly look me in the eye and tell me that you two are nothing alike?"

He stared into her large eyes before casting them down to the ground. She was right. After his mother was killed, he had to become the strong one. He had to be the one to look after the others. He even went so far to blame himself for his mother's death. Once he found her killer, that Hollow, he refused to back down. He wouldn't have anyone interfere with his fight. He wanted to be the one to bring it down. He wanted to kill it himself and get his revenge. Sapphire must have felt the same way. She wanted all Soul Reapers to die in order to protect her sister and for her revenge.

They were alike in that sense. He had no idea what she was like before, but she was stubborn, tough, strong-willed and wanted the power she needed to protect the ones she cared about. She had an attitude just like he did. He used to be such a crybaby, but now…

They really were alike.

Rukia stood, waiting for his answer. He didn't need to say it. She knew she was right by the look on his face alone. "That's why you feel so strongly about this. That's why you want to protect them. Sapphire reminds you of yourself and her sisters remind you of your own."

"That's not the only reason, Rukia." Ichigo drew his eyes back to hers. "It's also because they don't deserve to die. They've gotten the short end of the stick all their lives. They've been the target of these cruel attacks without ever knowing the reason. They think that Soul Reapers are evil and the Soul Society thinks they're the evil ones. I talked to them. I've seen them. I know they're not evil. They're just scared and want to live a safe, happy life. Something they were never allowed before. I just can't sit back and watch them die. Not like that. Not the way they are now."

Rukia gave him a sad look behind her strong front. "But without proof that they're good and that we were wrong about them, they're going to be treated just like every other criminal. There's no way we can change that. I keep telling you, Ichigo. We can't just-"

Ichigo held up his hand to silence her. His eyes wandered vacantly as he listened.

"What are you-"

"Shh!" He listened long and hard. "Do you hear it?"

Rukia listened but heard nothing but the wind from the open window to their left. "Hear what?"

Ichigo cupped his hand behind his ear and listened. "The song."

The water-like flow of the song washed over him like a powerful ocean wave. It was so beautiful. He knew the owner of that angelic voice. The songstress was none other than Lavender, the middle sister. She was singing her song for them tonight.

Rukia kept trying to catch a note of the song, but failed every time. "I don't hear a thing."

How could she not hear it? It was so clear to him. He could pick up every note perfectly. Could it be that Rukia couldn't hear her song because she was too old? It worked best on children, according to Kisuke. But Ichigo could hear her song so clearly and he was no child. Why couldn't she hear it?

There was a panicked scream from down the hall and a commotion from another. Something was going on. Just then a large group of Soul Reapers came running down the hall heading right for them. Rukia and Ichigo jumped aside just in time.

Rukia called out to them. "Wait! What's going on?"

"The lieutenant of Squad 11 is down! She stopped moving just a few seconds ago and is unresponsive. We're getting Captain Unohana at once!"

Another group came running by as well. "You can't. She's busy tending to the students in the training hall. They all just collapsed at once! They're not moving."

It was Lavender's song. She took them all out at once with her song.

It had started.

Up on the hill, Sapphire stood with her sisters and protectors. Lavender sang the final verse to her song and closed her mouth. She turned back to her big sister with a sad stare. She didn't want to be here at all. She just wanted to go home and live the remainder of her life in peace with their protectors. Ruby was still in the dark as to what was going to take place. Sapphire only brought her to have her witnessed the fall of their enemy. Sapphire looked to the three men behind her. They were ready for action. Smiling, Sapphire turned her neck skyward and took in the scent of twilight. After tonight, things would be better for them. No more enemies to hurt them.

"It's time."

Hitsugaya and Byakuya took out their blades. Hanataro stood with Ruby.

Lavender gulped and shut her eyes.

Sapphire pointed to their goal. "Move out!"

Hitsugaya and Byakuya charged in.

* * *

Please review! ^-^


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: **

The fight was starting. Ichigo had to stop it. This was now a mission of peace. He wasn't looking for blood this time. Still in his human form, Ichigo climbed onto the windowsill and prepared to jump. "Rukia, I have to do this!"

Before she could argue with him or talk his ear off about how reckless he was being, he had jumped from the second floor.

It wasn't too much of a jump for him. Two stories his human body could handle. He landed on the hard white ground below and felt his feet collide against the unyielding ground. It hurt a little, but it was nothing to worry about. Ankles a bit sore from the landing, Ichigo pushed himself forward. He had to get to those girls before it was too late. As he ran, he looked up to the building where Hisagi was still waiting for him. The Soul Reaper was looking down at him, waiting for his next orders.

"Hisagi, let's go!" Ichigo flagged him down.

With incredible ease, Hisagi jumped down to Ichigo's side and took off in a dead run. Neck and neck, they ran down the street.

In truth, Ichigo had no idea where he was going. He had intended to follow Lavender's song, but it had long since melted into the wind. Without her song to guide him, Ichigo was hopelessly lost. If only he was talented when it came to detecting Spirit Pressure, something that he was teased about often. But these girls were spirits. Did they even have Spirit Pressure? If so then why didn't the other Soul Reapers detect them a long time ago?

This human body of his was slowing him down. If only he had left it behind. No, if he had done that then he would turn into a Soul Reaper. And if he did that, then there was no way the girls would let him pass. He had worked too hard to earn their trust to let it all go to waste now. At least in this form, they were more likely to hear him out. As a Soul Reaper, they would never let him get close enough to talk to them. It was best if he stayed a human. Too bad he was so slow and weak in this form.

Hisagi jogged along side him, not tired at all. "Master, are you alright?"

"I'm too slow like this," he panted. "We'll never make it in time at this rate!"

Hisagi moved closer to him and slowed his pace, offering Ichigo his back. "Get on. I'll carry you."

It was demeaning in his opinion, but he had no other choice. Ichigo jumped onto Hisagi's back and rode him like a horse. Once he was on, Hisagi took off at an amazing speed. Ichigo had almost forgotten just how fast Soul Reapers really were. With Hisagi carrying him, they just might make it.

The alarm began to sound and the Head Captain ordered all able bodied Soul Reapers to charge into battle. They knew they were here. It was only a matter of time now before the girls were discovered. Ichigo could only pray that he'd be the first. He could hear hundreds of Soul Reapers clamoring to their battle positions. He turned around and saw multiple Soul Reapers running down the street right behind them.

"Hisagi, we need to get in the air! Jump!"

He obeyed and leapt straight up. Ichigo tightened his hold on Hisagi's shoulders as they flew upward, wind whooshing past his ears, deafening him for a moment. Once they slowed at the top of the jump, Ichigo sat up and looked around. He had a good bird's-eye view of the Seireitei. He looked frantically around. He saw an army of Soul Reapers converging on one location. They were all going to Sokyoku Hill. Ichigo squinted and could see about six people standing on that hill. He knew who they were.

"There they are! Go, Hisagi! Hurry!"

They just might make it, yet.

False hope on his part. Hisagi wasn't the fastest Soul Reaper out there. There was someone faster than he was and she had already flashed past them on the wind.

"Soi Fon, no!"

She was already there. She flashed in front of the blue-haired girl and wiped out her weapon of choice. "Sting all Enemies to Death, Suzumebachi!"

Ichigo wasn't going to make it like he planned.

She choose her victim. "Nigeki Kessatsu!" She stabbed at Sapphire, but was blocked by Byakuya. The butterfly-shaped stamp appeared on his chest instead. Soi Fon pulled away. She had no idea she'd be fighting Byakuya, too. Her surprise quickly turned into rage as she snapped at him. "Why, Captain? Why are you aiding the enemy?"

"I'm not," he answered coolly.

"From where I stand, you are! Back down! Back down this second!" She moved her arm down in a cutting motion, proving that she was serious.

He stood firm. He could be just as stubborn as she was.

"Captain Byakuya Kuchiki of Squad 6, I, as captain of Squad 2, command you to stand down this instant!"

His eyes narrowed, full of hate and annoyance. "You are not my boss."

"I'm higher up than you! I have authority over you!"

"No, you do not." Byakuya pointed to the girl behind him. "She does."

Soi Fon turned her gaze slowly to the blue-haired girl she had just tried to attack. This girl… She couldn't have been any older than sixteen at best! In her eyes, this girl looked like a 14 year old. How did she have power over him, a captain of Squad 6?

Sapphire smirked. "You brought this on yourself, Soul Reaper."

Soi Fon didn't understand.

"I'm here to take revenge for my sisters' sake. We'll be rid of you vile Soul Reapers once and for all. You'll never hurt anyone ever again. Byakuya's going to see to that, aren't you?"

He grinned back at her in a twisted big brother kind of way. He intended to protect them and he would do just that.

Gritting her teeth, Soi Fon turned back to him. "Are you out of your mind? All that talk of honor and order… Where's that talk now? This goes against everything you stand for!"

He said nothing.

"He'll do whatever I say. He has no choice. I'm in charge now," Sapphire told her.

She still wouldn't listen.

"Captain Byakuya Kuchiki, what is the meaning of this?"

"I keep telling you…" Sapphire snapped her fingers and Byakuya's hand wiped out and grabbed Soi Fon's, twisting it back. "I'm in charge now. He only listens to me."

Soi Fon clawed at his hand and tried to twist out of his grip. "Let me go!"

A familiar face poked out from behind the blue-haired girl. Soi Fon recognized her from a few nights ago. It was Lavender. She still looked fearful and timid.

That was the same way she looked that night, though not nearly as dramatic. Soi Fon had never been this close to her before. From this new perspective, she could see just how scared she was. She didn't look like a treat at all. She was just a little girl. Not only that, but they had a toddler with them, too. They didn't look like enemies. They looked like children. Why hadn't she seen that before?

With fearful eyes, Lavender tugged on her sister's sleeve. "Big sister, please…"

"We haven't made our point yet. I want them to suffer like we did. I want them all to know that they can't get away with killing our people!"

"Yes, but…" Lavender shifted her eyes from side to side. "I just don't think… What if…"

Sapphire grabbed her head and pulled her in close to Soi Fon's face. "Look there! See it? Can you honestly tell me that you don't fear that face? Doesn't it scare you? Dose she look as helpless and weak as we are? Does she?"

Lavender quickly shut her eyes and pulled away. "No! No, it's not… They're not..! I know that!"

"Good!" Sapphire let her up. "Remember, I'm doing this for you."

Hitsugaya looked up at the sky. "More are coming!"

"Take care of them."

He nodded and pulled out his sword.

In the time it had taken Ichigo to blink, a giant ice dragon had appeared out of the hilt in Hitsugaya's hand. With an icy roar, the beast struck the Soul Reapers charging in from the bottom of the hill. They were frozen in seconds, but only from the neck down.

"But wait," Ichigo murmured to himself. "I thought that they had intended to kill all the Soul Reapers by the way she was talking. Is Sapphire planning on some grand execution for them or something? Or is she planning on taking control of the really powerful ones for their army?" There was no time to waste. "Let's move, Hisagi!"

"Got it!"

"Captain Hitsugaya, stand down!"

"We don't want to hurt you!"

"Why are you doing this?"

Ichigo could hear the desperate calls of his own squad charging up the hill towards him. They were getting closer. "Stop! Don't get near him! You don't understand!"

Too late. Hitsugaya directed Hyorinmaru towards them, showing no signs of remorse. He wanted them gone. They were frozen before they could take another step.

Hyorinmaru's tail wiped the air, catching Hisagi in the leg right in the middle of a jump. He yelped and came crashing down. Ichigo screamed for him to pull up, but it was too late. They fell out of the sky and into the ground. Hisagi landed face first on the battlefield while Ichigo took a tumble and rolled down the hill, stopping a few yards away from his slave.

He got up and went over to him. "Hisagi, are you alright?"

He struggled to his feet and gave him a wary smile. "Yeah… Just nicked me a little. See?" His legs had frost on them but they weren't frozen.

"Good. I'm glad you're ok." Ichigo must have taken the fall harder than he thought. He couldn't think clearly. He looked around trying to focus his mind. He could see everyone fighting each other. And at the top of the hill, he could see The Three Treasures standing with Hanataro and Byakuya. They were unhurt for now. Byakuya still had a hold on Soi Fon who was still struggling to free herself. She may have been fast, but she was lacking in defense. Ichigo looked past the ones who had gotten themselves frozen and saw more Soul Reapers charging up the hill. This fight was only just starting. "Hisagi, I need you to hold off as many Soul Reapers as you can who try to attack those three girls up there, ok? Do your best not to get yourself killed, too. Got it?"

He nodded. "I'll do my best!" He was off in a flash.

Ichigo was off, too. He had to find a way to talk them out of this before it was too late.

* * *

Among the cries and sounds of battle came Lavender's plaintive lilt. "Please… Can't we just go home? I don't want to do this. We're just as bad as they are now."

"Not even close," Sapphire told her. "It's about time they knew what it was like for us all those years."

Since Soi Fon wasn't going anywhere, she decided to speak to the ringleader. "What's all this about anyway? Why are you attacking us?"

"Revenge." Sapphire's voice was cold but fiery.

"Revenge for what?"

Her eyes darted to Soi Fon's, flickering like azure flame. "You know damn well what you did. Maybe not you personally, but your people did it. You all must be punished."

Angry more than confused, Soi Fon lunged her body at the girl but was held back by Byakuya twisting her arm and forcing her down onto her knees. "You're not making any sense! What did we ever do to you?"

Sapphire's eyes had changed once again. They now looked like a wolf's when ready to go in for the kill. Sapphire's answer was firm and full of venom. "You murdered our people! Again and again and again, you killed everyone we ever cared about! When we ask for your aid, you ignore us then come to finish us off like cockroaches. What could my sisters have done to deserve such a fate? A timid girl who wouldn't hurt a fly and a baby?"

Some of the hate melted from Soi Fon's eyes. "You were targeted by Soul Reapers? What's your proof?"

"The black kimonos that showed up at every attack."

"That doesn't mean that-"

"And when our baby sister was lost in your town, you tried to attack us! My sister was only looking for a baby and you attacked her! As if she isn't scared enough as it is, you frighten her to death and come after her with swords! If Hitsugaya wasn't there, you would have killed her, wouldn't you?"

She remembered that night. She _had_ attacked her, hadn't she? All she was doing was looking for her baby sister? "But we were on high alert. She should have listened to us and done as she were told. We wouldn't have had to use force if she-"

"Why? So you could kill her like you killed everything else? Forget it! I'm not going to let you Soul Reapers take anymore lives! My two little sisters are all that I have. They look up to me, relay on me for protection. If I can't give them that, then what good am I?" Sapphire looked down at her palm as if reading her own fortune. This palm that could take control of anyone it touched. This hand of power couldn't even save them all those nights. It couldn't get them a safe home without having to flee this world all together. She closed it tight, making a fist. "What good am I as a big sister?"

Those words came more as a lament than anything that could be put into words.

Lavender pointed up above Sapphire's head. "Up there!"

They looked up. A Soul Reaper had made it this far. Lavender ducked in cover, but Sapphire stood her ground. Byakuya raised his free hand to protect her, but she told him not to bother. This one she could handle.

"Bloom, Rur- Gah!" Yumichika's attack was cut short when something sharp impaled him. He looked down and saw blood staining the front of his clean kimono. There was a hand stuck in his solar plexus. It belonged to the girl he was confronting. Sapphire had driven her arm into his body like a spear.

Soi Fon's jaw dropped. "You… fool…"

Sapphire pulled her arm back out, drenched in his blood. Her beautifully sculpted hand had been transformed into a dagger. Her fingernails had become like claws, all coming together to form a single blade. She wasn't completely defenseless after all.

She had no weapon. She _was _a weapon.

Soi Fon couldn't take her eyes off that blade for an instant. "I didn't know she could do that," she whispered in awe.

"Only Sapphire can do it," Lavender answered, still taking cover behind her sister and Byakuya. "We can't. At least not yet. She's the only one who has mastered her powers."

Soi Fon looked back and watched as the Soul Reaper caught off guard struggled to remain standing. Ruri'iro Kujaku slipped from his hands and fell uselessly to the ground. Yumichika fell to his knees, gasping for air like a fish out of water. Without mercy, Sapphire let him drop to the ground by her feet. She heartlessly wiped his blood off on his black kimono and looked past his crumpled body.

More were coming.

Sapphire, without turning, said quietly, "I'm getting a piece of action. Stay here, Lavender, Ruby."

Lavender's lower lip trembled but not from crying. Her eyes were dry. Her lips were merely at a loss for words. She wanted to speak but couldn't.

Taking up her bladed arm, Sapphire followed in after Hitsugaya.

Lavender looked down at the Soul Reaper on the ground. His wound wasn't fatal, but it was very painful. Not only that, but Sapphire had hit him in just the right spot, knocking the wind out of him. He was still trying to breathe and close the wound with his hand. Taking in a breath, Lavender turned around.

Believing her to be getting ready to finish the job or leave him there to suffer, Soi Fon tried once again to free herself from Byakuya's grip. She struggled and thrashed about, seething with rage. But to her surprise, Lavender did something else. She stopped struggling when she saw Lavender drag Hanataro over to Yumichika's body. She pointed to Yumichika's wound.

"Please, heal."

Hanataro pressed his hands over the fallen Soul Reaper's abdomen and started to heal him.

As he healed the Soul Reaper, Lavender sat quietly next to him, hands folded in her lap. She seemed so… caring. But wait. Didn't she hate Soul Reapers? Wasn't she afraid of them?

Keeping her voice gentle, Soi Fon asked, "Hey, girl. Aren't you afraid of us?"

Lavender bit her lip. "Yes."

"Then why are you helping him?"

It wasn't an easy thing to answer. "I don't know." She watched the greenish light glow over Yumichika's wound, slowly closing it up. "I just… I don't know. My sister thinks that you should all die but…" She trailed off.

"So…" Soi Fon wanted to understand. "Soul Reapers killed your people?"

Another quiet answer. "Yes."

"You're certain?"

"Yes."

Soi Fon wanted to be sure. "What did they look like?"

"I only managed to see one. His face…" Her eyes reflected the flame from that night in her memory. "He looked like a snake."

"What else?"

"He had white hair and a black kimono. And a long sword."

"Did he say anything to you?"

She thought back. "Not to me, no. But…" She remembered. "I did hear him say… 'Shoot to kill' and then I heard their screams." Her hands balled into fists.

Soi Fon was sure she knew who that was.

* * *

This hill was longer than he had originally thought. It was taking Ichigo forever to get up to the top. If only he had used his bankai, he could have increased his speed and been there by now. But in order to do that, he had to be in Soul Reaper form. That wasn't an option. If he changed, the girls would never hear him out and he would be attacked himself. No matter what, he had to stay as he was.

Soul Reapers were being thrown aside by some powerful force, but all Ichigo could see were smoke clouds and falling bodies. When she dust cleared, he could see a blade rising up, catching the light. It was attached to a long slender arm.

"Sapphire?"

He had no idea she could do that. When had she been able to?

"_I don't know the extent of their powers, but I do know that they can control people and manipulate them. Other than that, I couldn't say. Only Sapphire has mastered hers the last time I checked. The other two are still maturing."_

Leave it to Kisuke to only tell him half the story. It would have been so nice if he had told him that Sapphire could turn her hand into a blade. Or maybe he didn't know that she could do that. Either way, now she had a weapon to wield.

"Move it!"

Ichigo was pushed aside by a Soul Reaper charging in at Sapphire's back. His sword was outstretched before him.

"No, wait, stop!" Ichigo couldn't grab him in time. So he called out to the girl. "Sapphire, look out!"

She turned and managed to step clear of his attack in time. She leapt into the air out of range.

The Soul Reaper shot him a look. "What the hell's your problem? I totally had her!"

Ichigo ignored him and tried to chase after her.

No one was giving him the chance. Yet another Soul Reaper showed up and tried to attack her. The man with red hair wiped out his sword. "Roar, Zabimaru!" The long snake-like body of his transformed sword wiped the ground at her feet, sending her retreating to the air again. Believeing to have the advantage in midair combat, Renji struck. Sapphire spun around like a tornado, missing the attack by an inch. Renji's flexible blade came coiling back and struck from behind. She turned in midair and held up her bladed arm like a shield. She deflected his attack, but Zabimaru wasn't finished attacking yet. It pressed in on her like a charging bull. She forced it back, sending sparks flying in all directions as Zabimaru did the same, trying to slice off her hand.

"Renji, stop!" Ichigo tried to get his attention, but it was no use.

He forced her down to the ground, her heels digging into the dirt as she tried to slow herself while remaining upright. Renji pulled Zabimaru back but only to increase its attack. He wiped it around and Zabimaru came for her neck. With such speed and force behind the attack, there was no way she could stop it in time.

"Are you deaf or just stupid? I said STOP!" Ichigo threw himself forward and grabbed Renji's legs. Knocked off balance, Renji was sent down to the ground and his attack flew past Sapphire's head, missing her by only six inches, blowing her hair off her face and shoulders.

She looked at Ichigo. He looked back. She gave him a nod of thanks and looked back at the battlefield. More were coming. Gratitude given, Sapphire took up her arm and darted in.

"Hey, wait!" Finally close enough, it was the prefect chance to try to reason with her. He couldn't let her go now.

Renji grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him back down. "What the hell is your problem? Why'd you do that?"

"Renji, you don't understand! She's not the enemy!"

"From where I stand, she is! Did you see her attack me like that?"

"You attacked her first!" Ichigo tried to explain as quickly as possible. "Don't you get it? She thinks you're the enemy because of their past. We have to reason with them. They shouldn't be killed. They shouldn't die believing that Soul Reapers are evil. It's not right to die without ever knowing the reason why. They don't even know why they were attacked in the first place!"

"So suddenly, you're the peacemaker, huh? That's a stretch."

"Very funny. Would you help me?"

Renji groaned and looked around at the attacking Soul Reapers around them. "You know it's not going to be easy, right? This is war now, I hope you know."

"I know. That's why I'm trying to stop it."

He rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll do my best to talk people down, but I can't promise you anything."

"Thanks."

"Shut up."

* * *

"Why did you lure those kids away from their families?"

Lavender didn't look at her. "After being attacked for a long time and being chased away by others, we created a world of our own to live in. But Ruby's only a baby. She got restless and wanted to play with someone other that her sisters. She wanted a friend. So she opened the gate and left our world. We went after her, but we knew that we weren't welcome in villages anymore so I used my voice to lure the children out. I'm like the Pied Piper when I sing. We knew that she wanted to play with kids so we figured that we could ask the kids at the nearby villages. I lured them out and we asked them if they had seen her once we were safely away. None of them had seen her so we sent them back. Some took longer than others because we saw Soul Reapers hanging around the villages and wanted to stay away until it was safe. We never hurt any of them. We just wanted to find our sister."

Soi Fon looked over at Ruby. She was a sweet-looking girl. She was playing with a battered up-looking rag doll, apparently bored with the battle going on around them. So young, she probably didn't even realize that they were in any danger. She probably had no idea what was going on. She tossed it up and down, catching it and giggling when the soft floppy arms hit her in the nose. She looked harmless.

"What's her power?"

"She can control people with her cuteness."

Soi Fon watched her play. "I'm not sensing anything."

"She can't control her powers, yet. They're off now. I can't say when they'll come on again. It could be hours, days…"

"Where'd she get that doll?"

Lavender looked at the rag doll in her hands. "Sapphire made it for her. She said that that could be her friend. But Ruby said that she wanted something that could talk back. We can create worlds and houses, but not life. We can't make people for her. We can make flowers, but they're all fake. They'll always bloom. It's always spring where we are. Everything's always in full bloom."

An explosion sounded near them and Lavender flinched.

"You don't seem like the type to go into battle."

She agreed with Soi Fon. "I'm not. But Sapphire says that it's for the best. I believe her. She's only trying to protect us."

"By killing others?"

She shut her eyes tightly as if trying to squeeze a memory out of her mind. "You attacked us first again and again. We're afraid of you. My sister hates you. You're evil. That's why I trust my sister's judgment."

"Then why keep them around?" Soi Fon gestured with her head over to the Soul Reaper slaves.

"Because they're being controlled. That means that we can trust them. Byakuya knows that he's being controlled but doesn't care. Hanataro's just a mindless servant who will only do as he's told. Hitsugaya's had his memory rewritten so he thinks he's been on our side all this time. We need protection. We're not all powerful. And now Ruby has friends she can play with and never have to run off again."

"But they're being controlled."

Before Lavender could think of an answer, another explosion sounded followed by a battle cry. Lavender ducked and hid behind her hands. Byakuya pointed at the danger and declared loudly "Hado 4, Byakurai!" The blast hit the Soul Reapers and threw them back down the hill.

More were coming. Someone was charging up the hill at a breakneck speed. Sasakibe pushed his way past all the other Soul Reapers and got ready to attack. Lavender looked from the new threat to her protector still restraining Soi Fon. It was a split-second decision. She called for his help.

"Byakuya, help me!"

He was torn. How could he? He would have to let go of this one first.

"Let Soi Fon go and-"

Sasakibe was already upon her and brought his blade down. There was a clang as Byakuya wiped out his sword to defend his princess. Their weapons rattled as they both tried to force the other one back. Byakuya found the strength he needed and forced the lieutenant of Squad 1 back. Sasakibe struck again. Byakuya grabbed him by his collar and dragged him up into the air. The lieutenant punched Byakuya in the face to get him off but it didn't faze him. Byakuya dragged him through the air and took the battle away from the girls.

Lavender got to her feet and gasped. "I have to help!" She started to run down the hill, trying to follow the fight. "Ruby, stay here with Hanataro! Don't move!"

She just waved, still unaware of the danger and went back to playing with her doll.

Soi Fon struggled to her feet and inspected her arm. It was very sore, but luckily unbroken. She looked down the path Lavender had taken. Now what was she supposed to do?

* * *

Their fight took them down to the tall building a good distance away, but still close enough to the battle going on below. Byakuya threw Sasakibe down to the ground. Before he crashed, Sasakibe grabbed hold of Byakuya's scarf and dragged him down with him. After the crash, the two split apart. Sasakibe took out his blade and slashed at the captain. He dodged it easily.

_This makes no sense_, Sasakibe asked himself. _Why is Byakuya doing this?_

Byakuya closed in and punched Sasakibe in his solar plexus. Blood flew from his mouth as Byakuya bulldozed him spine first into the wall. A giant crater formed where they struck sending glass and rubble showering down upon them both. He wasn't going to let up for an instant. With his hand still stuck in his opponent, Byakuya pulled him upward and into the landing above. Wood splintered and broke around them as they traveled straight up into the next one. They continued up through each floor until they finally broke through the roof and into the sky. Both separated, skimming the air with their heels. There, Byakuya pulled out his blade and pointed it at Sasakibe.

Lavender sprinted down the hill towards the fight. She dodged several Soul Reapers and avoided attacks by inches. This fear was very familiar to her. Years ago, this sort of fear would be enough to bring her to her knees and cry. But this time, it forced her to keep going. All the noise around her was strangely empowering. Maybe she could do this after all.

Hitsugaya deftly did a full spin in midair, creating a whirlwind of ice and snow. The cyclone plummeted straight down, freezing anything in its path. He was doing this to protect them. It was all for them. He kept telling himself that with every strike he delivered. It was all for them. Another enemy on his left. "Hado 4, Byakurai!" He pointed straight at the large group while directing Hyorinmaru to the others on his right. There was no end to them.

Back and forth, back and forth. The battle wasn't going to end and so far, there was no winning side. It was amazing. Ichigo didn't think that the match would be this close. Ichigo weaved and dodged so many attacks and falling Soul Reapers, he had lost count. Those girls had to be somewhere in this crowd of chaos. He looked up and saw Sapphire standing just a few yards away surrounded by Soul Reapers. Ichigo jogged up the hill, human body wearing out. It was all her could do not to change into a Soul Reaper.

Sapphire slashed at one Soul Reaper with her bladed arm while clamping her open palm on another's forehead. One moment he was attacking her, the next he was swinging wildly at his teammates.

Was that her plan? Was that why she hadn't killed anyone yet? Was she planning on turning the strong ones into her slaves to fight back against their own squads? Ichigo had to admit that she had thought this out a lot better than he had figured.

"Stop, Captain! It's me! I don't want to fight you!"

Ichigo turned, hearing Rangiku's voice behind him. She was pleading with Hitsugaya not to attack her, but he wasn't going to listen. He tried to cut her head off, but she ducked.

"Captain, please stop it!"

"Stop calling me captain! I'm not one of you nor will I ever be!"

"Please, try to remember! You have to!"

Hitsugaya swung his sword at her again. "Shut up and die!"

She moved out of the way but wouldn't give up. She tried to get the sword away from him, but ended up getting hit instead. No, she wasn't cut. Something had shielded her from the attack. Hitsugaya stepped back and looked down at the thing soaking the ground at her feet. Tiny shards of glass rained down from the inside of her kimono.

Hitsugaya's eye twitched. "You even hide sake in your clothes..? What, hiding them in the office isn't enough for you? You have to be the most desperate alcoholic I have ever met, not to mention lazy, Matsumoto!" He stopped after having said her name. "How did I know that?"

_Wow_, Ichigo thought. _Subconsciously, I guess he still can't stand how much she drinks and just has to yell at her for it_.

"Toshiro!"

All three turned and saw Lavender running down the hill towards them. Behind her was a Soul Reaper, sneaking up to attacker her. She didn't even know he was there. Her tunnel vision was pointed at Hitsugaya alone.

Abandoning his fight with Rangiku, Hitsugaya jumped up and threw himself into her slender body. He wrapped his arms around her and rolled out of danger with her pressed tightly to his chest. Ichigo chased after them along with Rangiku. When they finally rolled to a stop, Hitsugaya wasn't moving, blood staining his kimono. Lavender opened her eyes and looked at the one laying on top of her. With a gasp, she pushed Hitsugaya off her body and rolled him onto his back.

"Toshiro! Toshiro, are you ok?"

His eyes opened and he gave her a weak smile. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, but what about you?"

He smiled a little wider. "I'm fine. It was just a little scratch." As he moved to sit up, more blood was pressed out of his wound and he clasped a hand over it in a vain attempt to close it. Ichigo knelt down at his side and looked at were the wound was located. It was just under his left rib. Five inches higher was his heart. It was a little too close for comfort. When Rangiku approached to try to help him, Hitsugaya grabbed his sword and tried to stand.

"Die, Soul Reaper!" Blood soaked his hand and flowed down between his fingers. He shut his eyes from the pain of it all, but knowing that a Soul Reaper was near forced him to his feet. As he tried to raise his sword, more blood spilled out and he dropped to his knees. He started coughing and panting.

"Toshiro, stay down!" Lavender told him.

"But I have to protect you! I have to keep fighting!"

She forced him to sit on the ground. "Please don't!" She looked like she was about to cry. "I don't want you to!"

He looked into her eyes with a bewildered look. "But…"

"I don't want you to! Please just stop! As long as you're hurt, just stay down! Please!"

Footsteps approached the group and they looked up, fearing it would be reinforcements. It turned out to be Unohana and a handful of other Squad 4 members. "He's injured! Start treating his wounds!"

"But, Captain," a man started to say. "He's a traitor. He's been attacking us all this time!"

"I don't care. Heal him." Unohana wasn't smiling this time. "Heal him or I will."

Hitsugaya didn't let go of his sword. He still felt threatened.

They moved in.

"No!" Lavender threw her arms around his body. "Please don't hurt him! He was only trying to protect me! Please!"

"We're not going to hurt him. We're trying to heal him," Unohana explained.

Lavender looked up cautiously. "Are you sure? He was saying that Toshiro was a traitor. Aren't you going to kill him because of that?"

"Not at all. He's still injured. It's our job to help him. Please trust us."

Reluctantly, Lavender moved away from Hitsugaya and let her come close. She put her hand over Hitsugaya's wound and started to heal him. Hitsugaya looked from Unohana's hand to Lavender. It was unclear what he was thinking. It seemed to Ichigo that he was looking for reassurance. Lavender was biting her lip and trying hard not to shake. It was very clear that she was still frightened. A Soul Reaper was so close to her, healing Hitsugaya who was only hurt because of her. Ichigo could only imagine what was going through her mind at that moment.

"Please…" she whispered. "Take care of him. Toshiro don't fight back… I'm sorry." Biting her lip again, Lavender got up and started to run.

A couple Squad 4 members moved to follow, but Ichigo beat them to it. He chase her down, calling her name. "Lavender, come back here! Stop!"

She wouldn't stop. Knowing that there was only one thing he could do to catch up to her, Ichigo jumped as far as he could and tackled her to the ground. They rolled over each other until they finally stopped in the middle of all the chaos, Ichigo on top. They both fought to catch their breath. Lavender looked up at Ichigo. He inhaled and finally said what he had wanted to say for some time now.

"You have to stop this!"

She tried hard not to cry. "I know! Don't you think I know that? I know it has to stop! But I never wanted this! I never wanted to fight! I just wanted to go home and be with my sisters again!"

"Then why don't you end this?" Ichigo was pinning her down by her shoulders, startling her body. He wasn't hurting her, but he wanted to makes sure that she wasn't going anywhere.

"I can't!" she cried. "It's what Sapphire wants!"

"Why don't you stop her?"

"I can't!"

"Why not?"

"Because she's my sister!" She was fighting so hard not to cry. "She's all I have left! She and Ruby are the only ones left I still care about. They're the only family I have. Sapphire said that this was to protect us and keep us safe from now on. She said it's for our own good!"

For a moment, Ichigo could have sworn that she looked like Yuzu for a second. This close, Lavender reminded him so much of his sister. She became very sensitive after their mom's death, not that she wasn't before. But now she had to worry about everyone's safety, fearing that someone else may not come home that night. Yuzu and Lavender were alike in that sense.

"Believe me," Lavender went on, voice somewhat softer than before. "She wasn't always like this. She used to be different. She used to smile more. All the attacks we went through just hardened her heart and filled her with hatred and rage. She only wants to protect us and keep us safe, but no matter what she did or where we went, the danger always followed us, so we had to make a world of our own to escape."

As she spoke, Ichigo got vivid image after image of the Sapphire before. She used to smile more than she did now. She used to trust more and laughed a lot. She was always so loving and protective of her sisters. She was a big sister. She was the oldest. Without parents to help them out, it was all up to Sapphire to take care of them all. She read them stories on those nights to entertain her two sisters. She offered them assurance and guidance when they needed it. She told them not to be afraid. She played with them. She chased them through the grass, playing tag or hide-and-seek. She comforted them through all the nightmares and times when they were hurt or scared. But as time went on, that Sapphire slowly started to lock herself away, favoring a different persona. She now had to become cold and hard. She had to be a strong leader and toughen herself up. The people she was once told to trust were now the ones she hated and held responsible for every bad thing that happened to them. She had changed, thinking that it would serve her sisters better.

That was how Ichigo became after his mom died. He was always so sensitive as a kid but after that, he had decided to toughen himself up and become a strong protector for his two sisters.

"I know you're hurt," Ichigo told her gently, like a father consoling a frustrated daughter. "I know how much pain you're in and I understand that she is suffering, too. But this can't go on. People are hurting. You have friends attacking friends. Hitsugaya's hurt and trying to attack his friends. I know you don't want this."

Lavender sniffled.

Reflected in her eyes was all the pain and suffering they had gone through. All the fire and bloodshed. But also in her eyes, he could see a bit of the person she once was. She was always timid, but not as much as she was now. In her eyes, Ichigo could see a bit of her past. He could see a running girl being chased by her many friends. He could see the wonder in her eyes when she discovered something new. He could swear he heard her laughter as well. It was unbridled joy, the kind you could only get through the meeting of new friends and the good times you spend together. He saw how happy she once was.

Her large eyes began to swim as tears welled up, threatening to spill over. She looked away from him, gazing at something at the bottom left corner of her eye. "But… won't she be mad at me?"

Ichigo new that look of guilt and sorrow. It was Sapphire who had brought them here. Sapphire who had protected them all these years. Most importantly, Sapphire was the big sister. She was dominate. She was the boss, the one in charge. How could she stand up to the person she looked up to and believed in?

"Sapphire said that it's all for our own good. I can't go against her."

Ichigo gestured to the battle with his eyes. "Is _this _for the better? Is this for your own good? Hurting others the way you were hurt? Killing as your people were killed? These Soul Reapers weren't the ones who attacked you so why should they suffer?"

Her tears finally spilled over. Like tiny rivers, they ran down her cheeks and onto the soil. She was crying. "Sapphire told me to be strong and not to cry! She said that… She said that it was a sign of weakness! I feel so stupid crying now when she told me not to! She never cries ever! She said that it never does any good!"

Ichigo tried to comfort her like an older brother. At that very moment, Ichigo couldn't see Lavender as she was, but as his sister instead. She looked like Yuzu in his eyes. He couldn't see her as anything else.

"Not crying is what's stupid. Holding it in never does any good for anyone. You have to let it out and share your feelings with those around you. They'll comfort you and you can share the same pain. You're all going through the same thing. How is your pain any different from theirs? You all lost the same thing." Ichigo lowered his eyes and his head, remembering the same pain he went through. "When my mother died, I thought I was being strong by holding it all in and not sharing with anyone else. I distanced myself from my family and the ones I cared about. I thought it was the right thing to do, but I was wrong. I was just causing them even more pain. I had to let people in so they'd know what was going on. We all lost a mother. My father lost his wife. How could I think that I was the only one suffering? I was wrong to keep it in and not talk about it."

Lavender whimpered. Tears still rolling down her face.

"I think your sister Sapphire is doing the same thing. She thinks that she's being strong for the rest of you by keeping her true feelings bottled up. That's what turned it into hate. She's doing this for your sake."

Lavender cried harder. This was all because of her? Sapphire was doing this for her? She was killing all these people for her sake? This wasn't what she wanted. Not at all.

"But you're letting her," Ichigo went on, his voice getting firmer but still sounding like a protective older sibling. "You've got to tell her to stop. You have to tell her that this is wrong. This isn't the right thing to do. You have to get through to her. Explain that all this fighting isn't going to solve anything. You know what you want, don't you? Stop letting her tell _you _how _you're _feeling and what's right for _you_. Only you can make that decision."

Lavender choked back a sob. "But… I don't know how… She's stronger than I am."

"Don't you remember what I told you? Didn't Byakuya deliver my message?"

Her eyes lit up like a dazzling gemstone. She remembered his words.

"_You're a smart girl and you're a lot stronger than you think. I know you know what's right. You'll make the right choice in the end. I know you will." _

"Make your wants known, Lavender."

* * *

Sapphire twisted and turned in the fray, rage and hate motivating her, willing her to keep fighting. She had to defeat them all to see that her sisters would be safe once again. A blow landed on her shoulder, knocking her attack off course. She turned and planted her palm on his head and forced him to attack his allies. She turned and charged in on the ones waiting for her down below. She grabbed one Soul Reaper from behind and started to strangle him with her arms. His friend, not wanting to risk using his blade so close to his buddy's head, chose to punch her instead. She took the hit and another one after that but wouldn't let go. When he tried to hit her again, she turned around and bit him. Blow after blow landed her in the face and head, but she wouldn't stop. She wasn't going to let him win.

_This is for them! _She told herself. _This is for my sisters!_

She kicked him below the belt and palmed another in the forehead.

_I will avenge you all! I will avenge all those who died because of these damn Soul Reapers! I won't let them kill again!_

Byakuya was forced out of the sky by the lieutenant and crashed a small distance from where she fought. He got up and looked straight at her. He charged in and forced the other Soul Reapers off of her. He ripped them off, one by one until he was slammed by another from the side. Kenpachi drove him into the ground and tried to bash his head in.

"Byakuya!" Sapphire called to him. "Hold him down!"

He did as he was told and put Kenpachi in a headlock. Sapphire raised her bladed arm, ready to cut off his head.

"This will finish it!"

* * *

8O What will be the outcome of this battle?

Please review and I'll post the ending up soon! The next chapter will be the last! ^-^

And in case you didn't already know, I've posted a picture of the Three Treasures on deviantart! My account is under the same name: swirlheart. So go check it out! XD


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11:**

With surprising strength, Lavender managed to hook her arms under Ichigo's chest and push him off her body. Once on her feet, Lavender took off running down to where her sister stood. She was at her sister's side in an instant. Before Sapphire could turn around, Lavender raised her hand and brought it down on her big sister's face. Sapphire staggered, shocked. Before she could open her mouth, it happened again. Lavender slapped her hard across the face.

Sapphire reached up and gabbed her hand. "What are you doing?"

"Something I should have done a long time ago!" Lavender tired to slap her again, but was restrained. Instead, she kicked her sister in the gut and tried to force her back. Sapphire pushed back on her sister and the two went tumbling to the ground. They rolled over each other again and again, fighting for dominance. Sapphire sat on her stomach until she was forced off and was pinned down by her sister. Lavender would then go rolling off her sister's body as she rolled on top of her. The pattern repeated itself as the two fought.

A crowd gathered around, watching the two sisters fight. Byakuya and Hitsugaya didn't know what to do. They were programmed to protect the girls from harm but here they were fighting with each other. Who do they obey now? Ichigo stood with Rukia and a few other Soul Reapers and waited for them to stop.

Finally there was a victor. Lavender sat on top of her sister's stomach, out of breath but triumphant. "This has to stop!" she shouted down to her sister. "I don't want to fight anymore! Can't you just leave it at that?"

"And let them win?" Sapphire spat. "I will not let them win! They've had their way for far too long! They can't get away with what they've been doing to us all these years! What about our people? Our friends and family? Everyone we ever cared about is dead because of them! Everyone died! Men, women, children, babies, grandparents! They're all gone! Slaughtered by Soul Reapers for no good reason at all! How can you say that this is enough? I want revenge! I want them all to die for what they did!"

"But we're punishing the wrong ones!" Lavender argued. "These Soul Reapers weren't there those nights! We should go after the ones that did it, not these people."

"They're all the same!" Sapphire struggled against her sister's grip. "I know you don't like it, but it has to be done! They're evil!"

"These ones aren't!"

Sapphire's eyes were glowing a bright like blue flame. "Have you so soon forgotten that it was them who attacked you in the streets that night when you were looking for our sister? They threatened you first! If Hitsugaya wasn't there to save you, you would have been killed on the spot!"

"I ran away! They chased me! They were only doing their job. I know they should have been a little nicer about it, but to them I was an enemy. The one I talked to said that if she had known, she would have been nicer about it. She would have tried not to be so scary."

"And you believed that? What about Ruby and those Soul Reapers kidnapping her?"

"She wasn't kidnapped. She wanted to play in the human world and told the Soul Reapers to take her. She was never in any danger!"

"And the Soul Reaper pets you want? You want me to give them back? I thought you wanted Hitsugaya around!"

"That isn't right, either! We have no right to force these things on them anymore! We took them away from their families! We're making them fight their friends! They may say that they want to be with us, but that's because that's what we want them to say! It's all a lie! Inside, they must be suffering deep in their hearts! I don't want to take them away from the people who love them just to be with us! It's a false life they're living! I don't want that to go on! Don't you get it? It's all wrong! This isn't right! Hitsugaya... Him and all the others have to go back to their old lives. Their real ones... I don't want them to live a lie anymore than I do! Knowing that is painful! If they are to love us and want to protect us, they need to do it on their own! Please understand that!"

"What about the big picture?" Sapphire was no longer pushing against her sister's strength. She lay flat on her back and screamed up at her. She screamed her words to the sky for all to hear. "What about them attacking our villages over and over again? What about them killing the innocent? What can they ever do to justify that? Why did all those people have to die?"

All fights around them eased. The warriors were now the spectators, watching and listening in silence.

"All the people we ever loved are now dead because of them! We used to live in peace before they came along! They're all dead, Lavender, all dead! That kind old woman who used to make us ice pops when it got hot, dead! The cute little kids that played tag with you and Ruby all day, dead! The old man who would tell us stories and make jokes, dead! That woman who made cookies for the kids just because she felt like it, dead! That other woman who treated us like her own daughters and gave us new clothes and fed us, dead! That mother and her newborn baby who we always made smile and laugh, they're dead, too! Everyone we ever played with, everyone we cared about, everyone we could ever love is dead, dead, dead!"

Lavender hung her head down. "I know that."

"Then why are you defending the ones responsible for that?" Sapphire finally found the strength she need to push her sister off. "That night, we saw a Soul Reaper cutting down our people! We saw him set fire to our houses! We saw a Soul Reaper smiling and enjoying what he did! How could you not think that they are evil?"

"Because they weren't all there! We only saw that one clearly. We don't know how many of them there were."

"Then what about the time we called for aid and it never came? Why couldn't they be bothered to save us from those Hollows? And when we asked for them to send someone up to treat the injured, they finished the Hollow's work and killed everyone but us! Why do they want us to suffer so much? Why do we have to live like this? Why do they keep putting my sisters in danger? Why can't they just leave us alone? What did we ever do to them?"

"That is enough!"

The crowd parted and the Head Captain Yamamoto came walking up the path they made for him. The Soul Reapers in the crowd knelt on the ground as a sign of respect to him. Staff in front, Yamamoto stopped in front of the two sisters. Ichigo gulped and waited. Was he going to sentence them to death or something? He prayed not.

"So you girls are the cause of all this, huh?"

Sapphire took up her bladed arm and lunged at him. "I'll kill you! I'll KILL you!"

Lavender held her back, pleading with her to stop.

"He's the leader! He's the one who gives out the orders! He's the one! Let me go! I'll kill him!"

"Sapphire, please stop! We're outnumbered and he's so much stronger than us!"

"I don't care! I'll kill him!"

Yamamoto was unfazed by the display before him. "So you believe that your homes were attacked by Soul Reapers?"

"Yeah, old man! We saw the whole thing!"

He said nothing and stared at her.

Sapphire thrashed against her sister's grasp. "Stop mocking me! You did it! You killed them! You let them all die! You're the reason we have to be alone for the rest of our lives!"

Still, he said nothing and watched her.

Filled with rage, Sapphire turned to someone in the crowd. "Hitsugaya, kill him!"

In a white blur, Hitsugaya charged in, sword extended before him. Several Soul Reapers stood up to defend their Head Captain.

"Toshiro, stop!"

This cry came from Lavender, and he stopped. He turned around and looked at her.

"Please, don't kill him! Don't attack!"

He exchanged looks from her to his intended target. He started to lower his sword.

"I said kill him!" Sapphire screamed. "I gave you an order, now do as I say and kill him!"

Hitsugaya started to raise his sword again.

"Don't do it!" Lavender cried. "Please don't do it! Don't kill him! Please don't attack! Please!"

"Do it! KILL HIM!"

"Don't do it! Please, Toshiro! Don't!"

He was torn. He didn't know what to do. He was supposed to obey these two girls no matter what, and now they were both telling him to do something different. Who was he supposed to obey? The sword rattled in his trembling grip as he looked back and forth, confused and stressed out. He didn't know what to do.

Yamamoto watched this and turned his eyes over to Ichigo. "So there really was a spell that bound them to their will, hm?"

Ichigo turned. "Duh! That's exactly what I've been trying to tell you! You never listen!"

Yamamoto went back to doing what he did best: not listening to Ichigo. Instead he continued to watch Hitsugaya struggle to figure out what he was supposed to do. "So he's being controlled by you, is that it?"

Byakuya stepped out from behind him. "It's a spell of Sapphire's. He no longer remembers being a Soul Reaper and has been brainwashed into thinking that he's always been their servant and is to obey them no matter what. Hanataro is under another spell of hers that basically turns him into a mindless slave. He has no idea what he's doing either."

"And what of you?" Yamamoto turned his gaze to Byakuya. "I saw you attacking our men as well, did I not?"

Byakuya nodded. "Yes, you did. I, too, am under her spell, though unlike them, I am aware of it but unable to control myself. It's like your will is attached to puppet strings, pulled by her fingers. You know what you're doing, but are helpless to stop it."

"Then why aren't you asking us to help you break free or at the very least, tell us what's going on?"

"That's another part of her spell. It alters how you feel. Right now, though I know I am being controlled, I like it. Call it brainwashing if you will but that's how things are."

"So all this time, Captain Hitsugaya truly had no idea what he was doing and cannot be held responsible for his actions?"

"Correct."

Sapphire screamed and tried to get to the Head Captain, thirsty for vengeance. "Why? Why did you do it? Why did you let them all die?" Lavender wrapped her arms tighter around his sister's body. "Why? Tell me why!"

"Because we didn't know about it."

Sapphire stopped thrashing but only for a moment to make sure she heard him right. "What? Don't lie to me! How could you not know?"

"Because we never got word of any attack."

"Of course not, because you were the ones who did it!"

"No, they didn't," Ichigo wanted to make her understand. She had it all wrong. "They didn't attack you. Aizen did."

She stopped struggling, wanting to hear everything he had to say. "Who's Aizen?"

"He was a Soul Reaper who just happened to be the captain of Squad 5."

All was silent as he explained.

"He gained our trust and fooled us all. A few months ago, he attacked and killed several Soul Reapers and escaped with two other captains who also betrayed the Soul Society."

"Why?"

"We didn't really know. No one did. But he stole something important that could be used as a weapon against us and the World of the Living. He's now on the Hollow's side. He fooled us all."

"But what does that have to do with us?" This question came from Lavender.

"Because one of the captains who joined him was Gin, and he's the only you saw attack your village. He was the one with the smiling snake-face, right?"

Lavender went pale and nodded. "That's right, he was. I didn't know his name, but… But I'll never forget that face."

"He wanted you to see him so that you and your sisters would believe that Soul Reapers attacked you. But he was the only one there that night. Aizen sent him because he had other things to do and couldn't do it that time. Then later you guys were attacked by Hollows and sent out a call for help, right?"

"Yeah."

"Squad 5 was the one that responded. The same squad that had Aizen as a captain."

"So?" This time, Sapphire was the one speaking.

"So Aizen's zanpakuto can create illusions basically that can manipulate all five senses. Once they got close to your village, Aizen must have used it on his squad to make them think that they were already at the village and fighting off Hollows. But actually, they were just a little less than a mile from your home. But under Aizen's influence, they thought that they were really fighting. Once all the fake Hollows were gone, they called the mission a success and went home while your real village was being wiped out."

"So he did that to make us think that the Soul Reapers never came?" Lavender asked, shocked.

"Exactly!"

Sapphire wasn't convinced yet. "Then what about when we asked for aid to treat our injured?"

"Squad 4 who provides aid never got your message," Rukia explained. "It was many years ago, but I talked to the guards who were on duty that night and they remembered that a message was passed to them asking for help."

"So what happened to it?"

"Gin intercepted it. He told them that he was on his way to see Captain Unohana who is in charge of Squad 4 and would give her the letter himself. But he never did. He wanted you to believe that the Soul Society was out to get you so he made sure that help never came."

"Then he and Aizen must have finished your village off later on," Ichigo finished.

"Now it all makes sense," Soi Fon murmured to herself. "He wanted those girls to see us as their enemy from the start. This was all _his _doing."

"But then why us? What did we ever do?"

"You're the Three Treasures," Ichigo answered. "Kisuke was a captain at the same time Aizen was a lieutenant. They must have shared information with each other about you guys. Aizen must have thought that you three would make good bait. So years later, after Kisuke left the Soul Society and was no longer a captain, Aizen must have seen his chance and gotten to work planning how he was going to use you. He was the one who attacked you in the first place along with Gin's help. The second time, he couldn't do it so he had Gin who had become a captain recently to go in and do it for him and this time make sure that he was seen by you so you'd know who your enemy was. Then he did it again and again to get you even angrier. He must have known that you would wait revenge and come after the Soul Society when the time came. That's what he must have wanted all along. He knew you'd end up attacking the Soul Society somehow and that the Soul Society would see you as the enemy and attack you back. He wanted a war between you two."

"But why? Why did it have to be us?"

"It's because of your power. He knew that you'd be a match for them because of the powers you three have. He wanted you to attack the Soul Society to weaken it, something he always wanted. He wanted this war to happen."

"Now it all makes sense," Rukia said aloud. "He wanted you to destroy each other. It was all a game! He wanted to confuse both sides and fool them both into thinking that the other side was the enemy! You thought that the Soul Society was evil as a whole because of what he did to you. And he knew that the Soul Society would think that you were the enemy when you tried to attack us. And even if things didn't go exactly that way, he knew how your minds would work. He had it all planned out and we fell for it."

The crowd around them was silent. At last, they all understood. Everyone Soul Reaper knew the truth. This was all Aizen's doing. Right from the start. He wanted these little girls to die by their hands and if not, they would do it themselves out of hatred. Those three girls were the real victims. Their fear and hatred was the result of nothing more than a horrible trick. They would have died for nothing.

Sapphire's body shook and her breathing quickened.

"Big… sister..?" Lavender's voice was quiet and soft.

"So that's it, then?" Sapphire's voice was trembling. "That's it? That's all there ever really was? All a trick? All this time?"

"Sister?"

"This was nothing more than an evil plan? We were just pawns? We were being used from the very start? ALL OUR PEOPLE AND EVERYONE WE EVER LOVED ARE DEAD BECAUSE OF THIS GUY'S IDEA OF A JOKE?" Sapphire pounded her fists on the ground creating small holes in the earth where she struck. "We were fighting the wrong people all along! We were angry at the wrong Soul Reapers! We had the wrong ones! What did any of this do? What good came of it?"

She pounded the ground harder.

"They're all dead because of him! Every last man, woman, and child is gone forever because he wanted us to attack the wrong people! Why did they have to die? They didn't do anything! All those people and for what?"

She continued to pound away at the earth, kicking up hard stones and dirt.

"All this time, we were led to believe that Soul Reapers were responsible for those killings, but instead it was just that one man and his twisted friend! How could I have been so stupid? I'm so worthless! Worthless!"

She pounded so hard, her hands were starting to be cut open by the tiny rocks and by the shear force of each hit.

"Sister, you're bleeding!" Lavender tried to get her to stop, but it was all in vain.

"What good am I?" Sapphire screamed. "I'm the big sister! I'm supposed to be the one to protect you! I'm supposed to keep you from harm and save you from danger! But I couldn't even do that, so what good am I? I'm not fit to be your big sister if I can't even protect you! I put you in danger! I led you to think that the wrong people were our enemy! I couldn't protect you!"

Lavender's face softened and she gave her sister a long sad, pitiful look. "Big… sister…"

Sapphire stopped hitting the ground and fought to catch her breath. The ground around them was now stained with her sweat and blood, mixing together with the cold soil.

"It was a lie…" she whispered to the dirt. "It was all a lie…"

Lavender slowly wrapped her arms around her sister's slender form in an embrace, pressing her chest to Sapphire's back. She held her close as if trying to absorb all the pain her big sister held within her. It seemed to have worked, for as she held her sister close, her warm embrace seemed to melt something hard in her sister. She started to cry. Sapphire never showed tears believing them to be a sign of weakness, but now that was all she could do. She let go of everything she was forced to keep buried inside. All of her pain, her sorrow, her rage, worry, everything she could ever feel in this situation and every situation they had been in before was released in big fat wet tears rolling down her face and onto the ground. She pulled her hands up and held onto her younger sister's arms as she hugged her back.

Sapphire cried harder than she had ever cried before in front of everyone. She screamed and wailed and sobbed into her sister's shoulder. Lavender held her close and pressed her head against her sister's. The tears in her eyes never did make it past her long dark lashes. She hadn't run out, but there was no longer a reason to cry. She had always cried because her sister wouldn't. Now things were different. Sapphire was crying for them both. She was crying for everything they had lost and everything she had held inside over the years. It was not just the pain that was released in her tears. It was not just sorrow. It was also relief. They were both relived. Now they knew the truth. Their enemy wasn't as big as they thought. They had no reason to fear these people anymore. They wouldn't die today. They still had each other and would be together for a while longer.

Ruby pushed her way through the crowd and came running over to her sisters. She stopped just short of them and sat down at their feet. She looked from the blood on her sister's hands to the tears in both their eyes. She didn't know what had caused them. She didn't understand what was going on. She took her sister's bloody hand and held it in her tiny fist.

"What's the matter? Are you hurting somewhere?"

Sapphire shook her head. "No, not anymore."

"Then why are you crying?"

The two sisters picked her up and held her in the middle of their embrace.

On looking Soul Reapers either bowed their heads, turned away or watched the three sisters in the center of the large crowd. Every last one of them was silent. All that could be heard was the sound of Sapphire's sobs.

Ichigo watched them for a while more before looking at his feet. Sapphire was suffering the most after all. Now they all understood each other. The war was over before it started. That battle was just a way to get everyone together to hear the truth.

There was no enemy on this ground. Just a lot of pain.

* * *

The battle was over and now there was peace. The two sides and called it a truce. Yamamoto agreed that the girls would be allowed to go wherever they pleased and not be arrested on the condition that they removed all the spells they had placed on their Soul Reaper slaves. Within minutes, everything was as it was before the girls showed up. Lavender's hold was released from all the children or those young enough to be effected by her song and they were free to move and do as they pleased. Byakuya spent most of his time apologizing to everyone he attacked, though everyone knew that he couldn't help it. Hanataro went back to his old clumsy self, though he did come out if the whole slave experience with a strange desire to play with Ruby. Hitsugaya had a total mind blank and couldn't remember anything that had happened that past week. However, when Ichigo patted him on the back saying 'welcome back, Toshiro', he responded with an irritated, 'that's Captain Hitsugaya to you'. He was back alright.

While Ruby played with several Soul Reapers including Ukitake and Hanataro, Sapphire took off and stood at the top of the large hill they had been fighting on just a few hours previous. She stared out over the Soul Society with a solemn expression. She looked out over all the buildings and white streets, standing very still like a statue.

Ichigo stood next to her. "You ok?"

She didn't answer.

"Do you still hate them?"

She lowered her gaze. "I focused my hatred on the wrong ones. All this time I've been fighting the wrong people. The ones that did this to us are still out there. I put my sisters in danger for nothing. All I wanted was for them to see the end of all our suffering. I guess instead I just wanted my revenge. It wasn't even about them in the end. It's what I wanted for myself." She scoffed. "Some big sister I am. My only job is to protect them and I couldn't even do that right."

"Don't be so hard on yourself. I put by sisters in danger all the time without meaning to. I always manage to do the right thing in the end, though. It just takes time. Just try not to think about revenge all the time. It never turns out the way you wanted and you put others in danger."

Again, she said nothing.

"But, hey, now that you know the truth, do you still hate Soul Reapers?"

She turned away from him. "It's not that easy to just stop hating something you've spend most of your life despising. It will take time. But I'll get over it. It's Lavender that I'm worried about. You know how sensitive she can be. She became this way after she witnessed all her friends and loved ones die right in front of her eyes and could do nothing to save them."

"Isn't she doing any better?"

Sapphire thought about it for a moment. "Actually, she might be. She would never think to strike me the way she did during that fight. She's getting a little more independent and stronger. Maybe she could lead herself one day. I don't know."

"Are you proud of her?"

Sapphire managed a grin. "Yeah, I guess I am. A little."

"You know," Ichigo said with a sigh. "We have the same enemy now. Would you be willing to team up and fight against Aizen's group with us? You can still get your revenge."

It took a long time for her to respond. "No, not this time."

"Why not?"

"Because…" she sighed. "I think I've put my sisters in enough danger for the rest of their lives. I think I'm just going to count my losses and go back to the way things were. Just the three of us trying to live our lives out peacefully."

"Will you try to live in a village with people again?"

"No, we shall return to our own world."

"You sure? Won't you be lonely?"

She turned to look at him. "Nah. We'll keep the door open from time to time. Maybe you can come and listen to Lavender perform once in a while. She's getting better. Soon she'll be able to effect anyone she wants, no matter their age."

"I'll keep that in mind." Ichigo sweat dropped.

"And besides, you'll be fighting Aizen yourself, won't you?"

"Of course I will. I hate that guy."

"Then promise me you won't lose."

He gave her a thumbs-up. "You beat I won't!"

She smiled at him. "I'm counting on you… Ichigo."

* * *

At last, it was time to go. The majority of the Soul Reapers had dispersed, leaving behind a small crowd in comparison. Most of them either had work to do or no longer cared about the situation since the danger was over; which included Squad 11 for the most part. Ukitake almost couldn't bear to part with the tiny Ruby, but knew he had no choice in the matter. He carried her on his shoulders until they got to the location of their barrier. Sapphire was waiting for them along with a few other choice Soul Reapers which included Soi Fon, Rukia, Byakuya, Hanataro and Ichigo though he still wasn't in Soul Reaper mode. Ukitake sent her down, allowing her to climb the rest of the way up the hill by herself. It wasn't too far.

At the top, Ruby hopped over to the group and greeted everyone one by one with a huge wave and smile. "Hello! Hello! Hello! Hello!" She bounced into Ichigo's legs and gave him a hug around the knees. "Hello!"

"Uh, hello to you, too."

She laughed.

Also coming to see them off was the captain and lieutenant of Squad 10. Hitsugaya trudged up the hill with his usual scowl. He was now dressed in his regular Captain's uniform, casual green kimono left behind in his closet. For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to part with it. It was pretty comfortable anyway. Rangiku followed not too far behind, hands folded behind her back.

A few other Soul Reapers were there as well, with Renji leading them. At the top of the hill, he asked, "Hey, where's the other one?"

"You mean Lavender?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah, her. Where's she at?"

Lavender waved from the bottom of the hill, being brought by Hisagi and Kira. They helped her get to the top, holding her hands the whole way. Once she was with her two sisters again, they let go. She stood by Sapphire with a forced grin. There was no hiding that she was sad to be leaving them all behind. She was going to miss them all. Especially Hitsugaya. She had gotten very close to him this past week and hated to see it end. But she knew that this was where he belonged.

Sapphire patted her back and turned to Ruby. "Ready to say our good-byes?"

Ruby looked confused. "Aren't they coming with us?"

"No, not this time."

She pouted. "Aw, fun's over."

"Afraid so."

Ichigo stood in front of them. "Well, you guys are out of danger for now. That's good, right? But come on, you guys can still visit sometimes, right?"

Sapphire exchanged looks with her sisters. "Not too often. But we will see each other again, Ichigo."

"Ah, that's good!" he smiled.

"And Ichigo?"

He looked at her. "Yeah?"

Sapphire looked into his eyes. Her eyes were no longer the color of flame but the southern oceans. They were beautiful. "I want to thank you, Ichigo."

Her two sisters gawked at her. She never thanked anyone before! This was a big deal.

"Thank you for all that you've done. You've taught me a lot. Thanks for doing the right thing and for looking after my sisters."

"Sure, no problem."

"And I'm very sorry for all the trouble we caused you all. Please forgive us."

Rukia shook her head. "It was all a huge misunderstanding. Don't beat yourself up about it. We're cool."

Sapphire nodded. "Thank you." She turned to her sisters. "Say good-bye."

Ruby jumped to each Soul Reaper and hugged them each around the neck. She gave them all a cheerful good-bye followed with a kiss on the nose. She was just as cute as ever. Once finished, she went back to stand by her sister.

Lavender went straight to Hitsugaya and looked at him without saying a word.

He broke the silence. "Look, I don't remember much of what happened, but…" He rubbed the back of his head. "But no hard feelings, ok?"

That wasn't quite what she wanted to hear but took it anyway.

"Are you sure you're going to be alright?"

She nodded. "Yeah. We'll be a little lonely, but we're used to it. And now that we know that we don't have to fear you guys, we can come out and play here from time to time. I doubt you'll hear much from us anymore, though."

"It doesn't have to be like that."

"I know."

"Lavender!" Sapphire called. "The gate!"

"Coming!" She turned back to Hitsugaya. "I am going to miss you though." She started blushing. "But you know what they say! If you love something, let it go."

"Yeah, that's ri…" Hitsugaya's aqua eyes flashed. "Wait. What is that supposed to m-"

Before he could finish, Lavender threw her arms around him in a tight hug. He allowed her to squeeze him mostly do to the fact that he was still in shock. They parted and she ran back to join her sisters. For a moment, he felt as if they had done that before. He remembered her warmth as if it were from a dream. A calm, loving touch... like a lover. He still had a memory block and couldn't remember his time with her, but for some odd reason, his face was starting to turn red. He turned away to hide it from the others. And soon, just like his memories, it faded away.

The Three Treasures waved at the group and called out their final good-byes. Then they stepped back through the barrier and weren't seen again.

Ichigo finished waving and lowered his arm back to his side. He stared off in the direction they had gone feeling a bit poignant, if he had to choose a word.

"Missing them already, Ichigo?" Rukia half teased.

"Shut up." He sighed. "At least they have some closure. I mean, they didn't get the real bad guy, but at least now they know he's not here."

"I guess that's one way to look at it." She pulled on his sleeve. "Come on. We got some stuff to do."

Ichigo followed after her without complaining.

* * *

Days past and then weeks. During that time, not very much had changed. It was almost as if the whole incident between the Soul Society and the Three Treasures never happened. The Soul Reapers had gone back to their work without having to worry about bumping into some little kid running down the halls aside from Yachiru. Ukitake still had a thing for small children but that was normal for him. Ikkaku preferred to have no one speak of what had happened or bring up the way he had acted during that time, even though not too many people had seen him and he had very little memory of it. Yamamoto was still just as stubborn as ever, and Soi Fon was the same person she always was, apparently choosing not to take the matter to heart in any sense of the word. But that was normal for her. However, she was training to strengthen her defense a little more than she was. But that was a good thing.

Byakuya was back to normal as well, he too choosing not to speak about the ordeal to anyone. Hanataro had turned back into his clumsy timid self, running into a grand total of four walls that day and tripping down the stairs at least once while running from Squad 11 members who wanted to use him as their personal punching bag after theirs had broken. Hisagi didn't remember anything he had done while at Ichigo's command, which may have been a good thing, all things considered. Hitsugaya, however, had returned to work with a little more energy than usual and wasn't quite as moody. That could have been due to his little 'vacation' away from all the paperwork and other stressful Soul Reaper matters. It seemed that playing with the girls and hanging around their big mansion had done him a world of good after all. He still didn't remember much, but he kept getting these memory flashes every now and then and would have dreams about carrying a young girl on his back through the moonlit night. But those dreams didn't happen very often, something he didn't really care about. Yes, those dreams were kind of strange, but they were also peaceful; a nice change from the frozen wasteland he was used to seeing in his dreams.

Ichigo had returned to his normal life, if you could call it normal at all. He fought Hollows, he went to school, hung out with friends, did his homework, went home to get attacked by his eccentric father. However, he did hang out with his sisters more than he normally did. He actually helped Yuzu clean the house once and played soccer with Karin. He always protected them and loved them like any good brother should, but sometimes, he forgot about the other roles a big brother had to do. Just simply being by their side made them feel secure and knew just how much he cared. He would never take spending time with them for granted again. That's what he got out of meeting those three girls.

But he kind of missed the trio. He really missed listening to Lavender sing. She really did have a beautiful voice, even if few could hear it. But as Sapphire said, she would get better. She was growing stronger by the day. Those things took time. But even so. He wouldn't change her anymore than he would change Yuzu. He loved her as she was, sensitivity and all. Lavender didn't have to change either.

Life went on and he lived it his way. Everything was as normal as it could be around here. Everything was as it should be. The whole incident involving the Three Treasures was tuning into a distant memory. That was until one day when he was passing through the neighborhood after defeating a Hollow and bumped headfirst into an invisible wall. He dusted himself off and listened carefully. He could swear he heard a beautiful voice coming from the barrier. A female singer whose song filled the air and melted away into the wind, as soft and powerful as an ocean wave.

* * *

END

I hope you liked it. Like I said, I was trying something different, so I hope it didn't suck.

Thanks so much for reading and please review! ^-^


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